Of Average Insanity
by Cottonmouth25
Summary: Hiccup undergoes something he really does not want to do, and this prompts him to get his cousin back for the suggestion. Thus, a dare war starts on Berk, and threatens to throw the entire island into turmoil - all because of a few teenagers. Inspired by AnimationNut's fanfic, and includes my OCs as well! Dare suggestions wanted! WARNING: Spoilers for "Legends are Born" inside.
1. Sparking a War

**Greetings, and many great hellos!**

**Yep, it's another awesome story by good ol' Cottonmouth25. This time, it's a HTTYD dare war between everyone's favorite gang. I wanted to do this in order to make up for "Legends are Born", which I've mostly lost interest in writing.**

**Before I start, I have several things to go over as per usual…**

**One, this fanfic was inspired by AnimationNut's "Of Teens and Dares", so thank you for inspiring me!**

**Two, this fanfic is based directly off of "Legends are Born" and indeed stars every one of the characters. That means we get to see more of Snaketail and her hopeless crush on Tuffnut, and everyone's favorite shapeshifting dragon Batwings.**

**Three, I do not own HTTYD, although I often dream of what would happen if I did…**

**Let's start the craziness, shall we?**

-.-.-.-.-.

**Arena**

Like most, this war started small.

It was another average day at the Berk Dragon Academy. Hiccup's lesson was about calculating wind speed and turbulence as you flew, which would help you determine how to best fly in violently shifting winds.

However, not everyone was paying attention. The Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, were fighting again, Snotlout Jorgenson was snoring loudly, and Snaketail Grundenson was laying on her back and tracing imaginary designs in the air.

"Come on, guys, can we pay attention for at least five minutes?" Hiccup demanded for the sixth time in a row. "I don't know," muttered Tuffnut. "Is five minutes more or less than ten?"

Astrid Hofferson punched him on the arm. "Hiccup's trying to teach," she said. "Can't you just listen for once? This is important." Hiccup smiled at her support and turned to Fishlegs. The Ingerman boy was rapidly writing down everything Hiccup had previously said, or at least Hiccup thought he was. Fishlegs' handwriting was notoriously messy.

Astrid's ten-year old sister, Arachne Hofferson, was yawning and slumping against Rilebolt – the Skrill's scales were causing her hair to stand up with static electricity. The other dragons were scattered around the arena, all napping peacefully. Batwings and Heather were amongst them, coiled up around each other and dead to the world.

"Isn't there anything else to do today?" Snaketail groaned, sitting up and rubbing her back. "Even the twins' yak-tipping game sounds fun right now." Hiccup sighed and closed his book.

"Gobber has a lot of dragon teeth to clean today, from what I heard," he suggested, and several of the teens recoiled. "Ugh, why'd I want to go sticking my hands in some dragon's mouth?" Snotlout gagged. "Why _wouldn't_ you?" retorted Tuffnut. "It sounds awesome!"

Hiccup got in between the two before they could end up in a fight. "Gobber's job isn't that bad," he defended his mentor loyally. "It's important, and anyway, he enjoys doing it."

Snaketail shrugged. "To each his own," she said simply. Ruffnut squinted at Hiccup and asked, "So you're saying that you'd rather be helping Gobber clean out dragons' mouths than standing around here?" The lanky boy shrugged and said, "I guess. Anything's better than standing around in boredom."

Snotlout had a smug look on his face. "I dare you to do it," he challenged. "I dare you to go to Gobber's shop and clean out the mouth of one dragon."

Now everyone, even Batwings and Heather (who had woken up to see what the commotion was about), was staring at the cousins.

Hiccup shrugged again and said, "Why not? I mean, you could have dared me to do worse, after all. And I personally think it would be fun working with Gobber again."

Astrid looked amused. "This'll be good," she said. "I never thought I'd see the day when Hiccup would get sucked into taking a dare from Snotlout." Batwings shape-shifted into his human-dragon form and stretched his wings tiredly. "Like he said, it could be worse," he yawned.

Hiccup nodded, and then there was a sudden voice that rang out into the arena. "Oi, Hiccup!" It was Gobber the Belch. "I need ya in the forge today, I've got meself busy with all them dragons linin' up ta get their teeth cleaned."

The Jorgenson boy was looking at Hiccup expectantly. "Hey Gobber," Hiccup said, stepping forward. "How about if I help you with your dragon duties? The work will go faster, and then you can get back to the forge that much more quickly."

Gobber chuckled. "That's nice of ya, Hiccup," he admitted. "But I'm afraid I'm gonna hafta say no ta this one. Cleanin' the teeth of fire-breathin' reptiles is more dangerous than it looks."

But Hiccup was stubborn. He was like his father, Stoick the Vast, in that aspect. "Just one dragon then," he bargained. "One dragon, and then I'll go to work in the forge like you asked."

Gobber scratched his chin with his tongs. "Well, if it's one dragon, I don' see why not. Yeh'll get some more experience with the beasts, at least. Come on then, I've got a bit ova lineup today."

Hiccup followed him out, determinedly ignoring the other teens' smirks. "Three chicken eggs saying he gets burned," Tuff wagered. "Five eggs saying he gets his hand taken off," Ruff shot back. "_Ten_ eggs saying he gets _killed_!" Snotlout whooped, and the twins snickered.

Astrid slugged them all in their shoulders. "Grow up, you three," she scolded. "He'll be fine. If it has something to do with dragons, Hiccup will come out on top."

Arachne looked worried nonetheless.

Fishlegs looked like he was going to wet himself, so bad were his nerves.

Batwings just yawned, shapeshifted, and coiled up again, asleep in seconds.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Gobber's Forge**

Hiccup never would have agreed to this dare if he had known who the first dragon in line was.

Gobber led him past the long line of patiently waiting dragons and into his shop. It looked just like any other building on Berk, except for the huge sign dangling over the entrance, which resembled a dragon's tooth. Appropriate, considering Gobber's new occupation as Berk's only dragon dentist.

But whatever confidence Hiccup had – indeed, he felt ready to scrub clean a Nadder's teeth or pull out a rotten fang from a Grapple Grounder's mouth – drained out of him the instant the first dragon stuck her head in the shop window.

Nightshade.

Batwings' Whispering Death.

"Oh come on," Hiccup groaned. "Out of all the dragons on the island, you have to pick the only one that'll grind my hand into bacon bits."

Gobber the Belch only chuckled. "Come on now, Hiccup, she ain't tha' bad. As long as yer careful, yeh'll come out _relatively_ unscathed," he assured him. Hiccup only rolled his eyes and muttered, "Thank you for summing that up…"

The burly blacksmith limped over to stand beside Hiccup at the window. Nightshade looked at the two of them expectantly, a bit of pain in those sightless eyes of hers. "What are we supposed to do?" Hiccup asked.

"I have no idea," Gobber admitted. "We've gotta take a closer look first." With that, he used his hook to pry Nightshade's mouth open. Taking a look at the Death's multiple rows of constantly rattling, rotating fangs made Hiccup feel faint.

The smell of her breath wasn't helping.

Just then, Nightshade's teeth slowly stopped rotating, settling into place with a final *click*. This allowed Gobber and Hiccup to see what they had to do – there was a single, rotting fang at the very back of her mouth. It made Hiccup's jaw hurt just looking at it.

"Aye, tha's a nasty one," Gobber said, peering into the Whispering Death's monstrous maw. As he stuck his head in, his words echoed. "Alrigh', Hiccup. Help me out here and grab hold of it."

Hiccup blanched. "Um, w-with my… my hands? Don't you, um, think there's a… a sort of, safer way to do this?" Gobber placed his hand down on the window's edge to steady himself as he laughed. "Safety's overrated," he said after catching his breath.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Hiccup sighed, and after screwing up his courage, he held his breath and plunged into Nightshade's mouth.

Instantly, he recoiled as saliva dripped from the Death's upper fangs and into his hair. But Hiccup firmed his jaw and stuck his head and torso deeper in. Next to him, Gobber reached with his hand and clamped his meaty fingers around the bad tooth. After a second, Hiccup did too.

"Yeh ready?" Gobber asked, and Hiccup nodded. The sooner this was done, the better.

"Pull!" the blacksmith yelled as he yanked upwards, and Hiccup did as well with all his strength. However, even as they did so, Nightshade flinched in pain and instinctively began rotating her fangs again. The two Vikings were positioned so that they wouldn't be hurt, but it was unnerving and very dizzying to watch up close.

Time and again, when the pain went away and Nightshade calmed down, Hiccup and Gobber would grab the rotten tooth and pull on it. But every single time, they slipped and the dragon's teeth would begin spinning around again. After the fifteenth time this happened, Hiccup was covered in tiny cuts and gashes from accidentally getting too close to the razor-sharp points.

But finally, Gobber and Hiccup managed to get a firm enough grip on the rotten tooth. "PULL!" Gobber yelled, and yanked with all of his might. There was a sickening *pop* and a spurt of blood.

Nightshade hissed quietly, and Hiccup could tell from the force of air that blasted out of her throat that she was screaming in pain. The blacksmith and his apprentice both stumbled backwards, out of her mouth the instant before her deadly jaws snapped shut.

The Whispering Death backed out of the shop with a whimpering hiss, teeth rattling loudly as she tried to dull the pain. As if nothing had happened, the next dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, lazily stuck its muzzle in the window and waited for Gobber to start working.

Hiccup was shaking and breathing hard from the narrow brush with death. Gobber blew a satisfied breath out of his mouth and lightly patted Hiccup on the back. "Thanks for yer help, Hiccup," he said. "Maybe I'll let ya help again sometime! But righ' now, I need yeh ta get started on tha' forge work. If ya hurry, yeh'll be able ta join yer friends at the Great Hall fer dinner." He chuckled and gently pushed the skinny boy out of the shop.

Barely even noticing that he was outside, Hiccup took long, deep breaths to calm himself. He had been _this _close to getting bitten in half. He still had a lot of hard work to get done, and to top it all off, he was covered in saliva and blood, both his and Nightshade's.

As his fright wore away, it was replaced by anger. "Oh, Snotlout is going to pay dearly for this," Hiccup muttered to himself as he trudged in the direction of the forge.

-.-.-.-.-.

**OK, that's over with, and now it's time for you readers to get creative. I need dare requests!**

**I'll be picking the dares I think are good enough and believable enough to be included – and please, ****_please_**** be original! I don't want anyone thinking I'm plagiarizing their own ideas.**

**You might see a few of my own ideas as well, FYI.**

**So, please drop a review and a dare suggestion, and see you soon!**

**Next round: Hiccup daring Snotlout.**


	2. Give This a Try

**I know that this fanfic isn't as good as AnimationNut's, but really? No suggestions? Not a one? Come on, we're supposed to be a team, readers!**

**… Oh, we're not? Alright, fine.**

**Anyway, Hiccup's dare for Snotlout obviously comes from yours truly. I couldn't think of anything better, which is kind of why I need your help. My dares are terrible.**

-.-.-.-.-.

The sun was starting to set over Berk when Hiccup arrived at the Great Hall for dinner. On his blacksmithing agenda had been three swords, two axes, ten bolas, and a mace. His hands ached, his backbone cracked audibly every time he moved, and he was still covered in dried blood.

Just another day in the life of Hiccup. Except this time there was someone to blame.

He opened the massive wood doors with a bang and shuffled over to the spit hanging over the central fire. Grabbing a half-cooked chicken leg or two, he meandered toward the table where all of his friends were chatting and laughing. Everyone was there – Snaketail, Astrid, Arachne, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff, Batwings, Heather, and Snotlout.

His dear, lovable cousin Snotlout.

"Odin's beard, Hiccup!" squeaked Fishlegs, the first of the group to notice the state he was in. His shout caused several of the adults to look over and stare at him in amazement. Hiccup didn't notice as he slipped into his usual spot between Astrid and the aforementioned boy.

"What the Hel did that dragon do to you?" demanded Astrid, tugging his arm closer so she could more closely look at the dry blood spotting it. She looked up at him and added, "And why didn't you wash any of it out?" Hiccup just shrugged and replied, "I didn't want to."

Tuffnut sniggered and commented, "Now you finally look like a Viking." His sister piled on after taking a breath through her nose, "And smell like one." The twins high-fived as Hiccup dug into his chicken.

He swallowed his mouthful and said, "If you must know, I didn't bother taking a bath because I wanted Snotlout to see just what consequences his dare had."

Said boy looked up at the mention of his name, rubbing his hurting nose (he had been flirting with Astrid again). "What, what did I do this time?" he asked, bewildered and annoyed.

Hiccup leaned across the table and spat, "Your dare. Cleaning a dragon's teeth. I had to help Gobber with the only dragon on the island whose dental work would give my dad nightmares."

Everyone looked blank for a few seconds, until dawning realization began to appear on a few of their faces. Heather's eyes grew wide, and she said softly, "Don't tell me it was" – "Nightshade," Hiccup interrupted, shooting Snotlout a glare.

The Jorgenson boy gave a huge whoop of laughter, pounding his fists on the table as he cackled like a madman. Ruff and Tuff exchanged smirks while Batwings covered his face in his claws. "I trust you finished the job at least?" Snaketail said hopefully.

To everyone's relief, Hiccup nodded. "Yeah," he replied, "we managed to figure out what Nightshade's problem was and we solved it pretty quickly. The good thing is, I still have my arms," he added with a sarcastic edge, flexing his almost nonexistent arm muscles.

"It's not like you'd be any more useless without them," Snotlout snorted, still held in the grip of laughter. Astrid pulled her arm back, about to slug him, but Hiccup placed a restraining hand on her arm. He shook his head and gave her an _I've-got-this_ look.

"So what if I'm not strong?" Hiccup retorted to Snotlout. "It's not like muscle-work is the only thing a Viking's good at."

Snotlout looked at him like he was stupid, which was pretty ironic. "Uh, yes it is!" he insisted. "Of what use is a weak Viking? And that's exactly what you are, Hiccup – useless."

There was dead silence until Hiccup spoke up again.

"Alright, Snotlout," the Haddock boy challenged. "I'll bet I can find something you're useless at." His cousin snorted and shot back, "I'll bet you can't."

Hiccup looked extremely smug as he proclaimed, "Snotlout, as payback for what you put me through today, I dare you to repair one sword in Gobber's forge."

With a scoff, Snotlout waved the dare off. "Is that all? I could do that in my sleep," he claimed.

Batwings chuckled and plucked an eel from his plateful of fish. "Don't go biting off more than you can chew, tough guy," he advised, slurping the eel down headfirst.

Snotlout pushed his plate aside and stood up from the table. "You're on, Useless," he told Hiccup haughtily. "By the time lunch time rolls around tomorrow, I'm going to have the most perfect sword you've ever seen in my hands." He sauntered off through the immense doors and out of sight.

"I smell the most awesome dare war ever," Astrid said, cracking her knuckles in anticipation. Hiccup looked at her bemusedly, and she grinned knowingly at him. He grinned back after a second, looking forward to this as much as she was, despite himself.

Batwings and Heather both looked reluctant. Arachne and Fishlegs had frightened expressions on their faces. Ruff and Snaketail were smirking so widely that it looked like their heads would split in two. And Tuff simply looked confused.

"Do we really have to escalate this into a war?" Fishlegs asked timidly. "Isn't Hiccup getting revenge on his cousin bad enough?"

Ruffnut shook her head, causing her long hair to shake wildly. "Nuh-uh, no way," she grinned. "We are going to escalate this so much, it'll be _insane_."

Batwings leaned back in his seat after swallowing a cod. "I have to admit, it'll be fun watching you making fools of yourselves," he smirked, but Astrid instantly shook her head. "No way, you're in this too," she said, jabbing a finger at him.

"What?" Heather asked, giving Batwings a nervous glance. He shivered and draped an arm over her shoulders. "I guess we've got no other choice but to go with it," he sighed, shaking his head.

"This is gonna be so awesome," Ruff smirked. "I'm gonna use you Sirens for some really extreme dares." She cackled at some destructive mental imagery. Hiccup took another bite of chicken and imagined Mildew's house burning with invincible fires. _This is going to come back and bite me in the butt,_ he thought with a shudder.

Tuff still looked confused. "Are we going to be tested on this? Because I am really not getting it," he stated bluntly. His twin sister punched him hard in the shoulder. "What's not to get?" she asked incredulously. "It's a dare war, butt-elf."

A look of anger replaced the one of bewilderment as Tuff, at least, got the insult. "Who are you calling 'butt-elf', you troll?" he growled, shoving her back. They began to brawl right there in their seats, with the fight quickly getting more and more out of hand.

"Uh, anyone want my fish?" asked Batwings, shoving the plate across the table. "I'm really not that hungry anymore…" With a cautious glance at the wrestling Thorstons, he flapped his wings and flew out of the Great Hall. Heather flapped after him, and Fishlegs scurried frantically after the two of them.

Astrid grinned as she grabbed a fish from Batwings' plate. "So, Hiccup, you ready for what's coming?" she asked, slugging him in the shoulder playfully.

"I don't know," he replied nonchalantly. "We've endured hurricanes, tidal waves, Outcast attacks… but Loki himself will never see this premature Ragnarok coming."

His girlfriend's only reply was a swift kiss on his cheek. She stood up and led her little sister out of the Great Hall.

Meanwhile, Ruff and Tuff were rolling around on the floor, shouting words that made the adult onlookers wince. In the audience, their father shook his head, making a mental note to teach them about language.

Snaketail smirked and patted Hiccup's shoulder. "I'm off to bed," she said cheerfully. "Oh, and Hiccup – if there really is going to be a dare war, I think you'll need to come up with some rules in order to keep everyone in line."

The boy nodded. He turned back to his chicken as Snaketail walked out of the hall as well. "Keeping everyone in line?" he muttered to himself. "Yeah, that's probably going to be hard…"

Still, Hiccup then decided to do what he did best – think.

-.-.-.-.-.

**The Next Day**

Snotlout was just about to start his newest challenge. He had just finished his two-hour-long morning workout and was feeling pumped. As Gobber walked in, he smiled confidently to himself. _This is going to be a piece of cake,_ he thought.

"Alrigh', Snotlout," Gobber began. "Yeh ready ta begin?" The large boy hopped from foot to foot, getting his blood flowing in preparation.

The blacksmith held up a sword that had been twisted badly out of shape. "Now, the first thing ya need in weapon repair is a broken weapon!" he explained. "The second thing are yer blacksmithing tools" – he gestured around at the forge's interior – "and the third thing is love! Ya hafta genuinely feel love fer the weapons as ya slowly bring back the life force that infuses 'em."

Snotlout raised an eyebrow, even as something inside of him began to shrivel up and die.

Gobber kept explaining. "Take Prudence here fer example," he said, holding up the sword. "Hold yer ear up ta her badly twisted blade and hear her poor heart beatin' as she silently begs fer the perfect blacksmith ta make her whole again." He began to stroke the weapon and murmur soothingly to it, bringing it up to his head and nuzzling it lovingly.

Poor Snotlout began to visibly deflate. There was no way he could best Hiccup at weapon repair when he didn't even know what Gobber was talking about.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Snotlout's pride just got himself into another difficult position. Score one for Hiccup…**

**Anyway, next chapter we will get into the rules of the Berk Dare War, as well as Snotlout's choice of a dare for some unsuspecting victim(s). So give me a review and maybe a good dare suggestion, since I have no idea what to do next, and I will see you again soon.**

**Next time: Snotlout dares Tuffnut**


	3. Unhappy Camper

**The credit for this chapter goes to one of my most loyal readers, Megadracosaurus. You, my friend, are amazing.**

**SmokeyStorm: Wow, learn something new every day! I like to use both words, but thanks for correcting me.**

-.-.-.-.-.

** Berk Village**

A black streak shot through the blue afternoon sky accompanied by an echoing screech that pierced the air. The Vikings below instinctively cried, "Night Fury! Get down!" and hit the earth. But this was only habitual behavior. After three hundred years of being plagued with dragon attacks, it would likely take hundreds more until the screech of a Night Fury was a welcome sound.

Of course, the Night Fury in question was Toothless, and aboard his back was Hiccup. The black dragon slowed down his flight just enough to come in for an elegant landing, and touched down on the ground with only the slightest of thuds. Hiccup unhooked his prosthetic from the stirrup and jumped off of Toothless' back.

"Alright, bud, that was some good flying today," Hiccup commented, and Toothless just gurgled happily in response. Hiccup smiled and checked the position of the sun.

"Looks like it's around lunchtime, bud," he noted. "You want to head to the Great Hall with me? It is Thursday, after all." Eagerly, Toothless warbled and licked his best friend's face with huge enthusiasm. Hiccup made a disgusted sound and then laughed, gesturing for Toothless to walk with him to the Great Hall.

Ever since the defeat of the Red Death and the inclusion of dragons in Viking society, that day had been named a holiday – Thor's Day Thursday. And it was only proper that in honor of that holiday, Vikings and dragons ate together in the Great Hall every Thursday. Of course, the only dragons that ate there every day were the two Sirens, being more civilized than their brethren.

Completing the long walk up the stairs, Hiccup pushed the door open and allowed Toothless to pass him. Inside were an amalgamation of both humans and dragons, and the air was filled with delighted conversation and a variety of squawks, growls, and chirps as the dragons socialized.

Hiccup located his friends at their usual table, surrounded by their dragons – there was Hookfang, Meatlug, Stormfly, Rilebolt, Barf and Belch, Horrorcow, and Nightshade. Stoick's dragon, Thornado, was nearby, as was Gobber's Boneknapper, who didn't have a name yet. Heather hadn't yet found a dragon to bond with, but she had a mutual friendship with Arachne's Skrill.

The gang was clustered around the table when Hiccup and Toothless arrived, examining something. "What's happening, everyone?" he asked, sitting down next to Astrid and Fishlegs.

Wordlessly, Snotlout sighed heavily and pushed something across the table towards Hiccup. It was what Hiccup recognized as the handle of a sword, but there was no blade. Instead, a jagged metallic stump poked out from the ornate steel. Just then, Hiccup remembered his dare for Snotlout – repairing a weapon in Gobber's forge.

"Please don't tell me that this used to be what I think it used to be," Hiccup said, recognizing the handle. He held it up to the light of the candles dangling overhead, remembering that the sword he had made for Gobber on his birthday had such a handle.

"Poor Prudence," Batwings sighed dramatically. "All your hard work, all Gobber's devotion to her… all ruined. Snotlout has to do all of Gobber's laundry for a week to make up for what he did."

The Jorgenson boy winced. "OK, OK, no need to rub it in," he said. "So I can't do sword repair. Big deal. At least I still have my looks," he added more cheerfully, pulling out his favorite hand mirror and admiring himself in it.

"You're lucky you don't have to keep replacing that glass," Astrid muttered, earning a snort from Snaketail and a giggling fit from Arachne. Hiccup chuckled and popped a fried potato in his mouth.

"Alright," he said when he had finished chewing. "If this is going to escalate into an island-shaking dare war, then there needs to be some rules. And I have them figured out. First, no dare-backs, which means you need to wait until your next turn to get someone back."

Snotlout slammed his fist on the table and scowled at Hiccup. "You just made that up so I wouldn't get you back for this!" he protested, holding up Prudence's handle. Hiccup only shrugged and took a sip of his yak milk.

"Now, second rule," he continued in a slower voice so that everyone would hear. "Everyone has three chances to either fail a dare or skip out on it. You lose your three chances and mess up one more time after that, you lose the war and you miss out on the rest of it."

Fishlegs nodded his head frantically. "Now that definitely sounds like a good rule," he said quickly, but Ruffnut caught him in her glare. "You are _not_ going to deliberately lose," she said threateningly, and he squeaked and nodded understandingly.

"So, Snotlout," Astrid said with a smirk. "Who's your victim?" The boy looked around the table, meeting everyone's gaze. Astrid, Ruff, Tuff, Snaketail, and Hiccup glared confidently back. Arachne squeaked when his eyes fell on her, and sighed with relief when he moved on. Fishlegs was muttering, "Please not me," over and over again. Batwings and Heather just grinned at Snotlout and flashed their fangs.

Finally, Snotlout made his decision. "I pick Tuffnut," he said, pointing directly at said boy. He sighed and shrugged. "Whatever," he replied. "What's my dare?"

It appeared it hadn't occurred to Snotlout that he'd have to think of something for Tuffnut to do. He took a very long time to choose, looking all over the Great Hall for some kind of inspiration. Hookfang watched him in amusement for a few seconds before going back to his fish.

Clearly, the concept of _thinking_ was still kind of new to Snotlout.

A sudden commotion at the other end of the hall sparked his interest. Mildew had just had his mead knocked over by an idle lash of a Zippleback's tail, and he started shouting things like, "Blasted dragon!" and "These beasts need to go, Stoick!"

"Why doesn't Mildew just eat at his isolated little den?" Snaketail asked with distaste. "Everyone would be much happier." It was this little comment that gave Snotlout the idea he needed.

"I've got it!" he crowed triumphantly, and pointed a dramatic finger at Tuffnut. "I dare you to sneak into Mildew's house and spend the night there without being found out!"

There was instant laughter from Astrid, Ruffnut, Hiccup, and Batwings. Fishlegs looked appalled while Heather looked mildly amused. Tuff was dumbfounded.

Astrid's cackles finally got a reaction from him. "It's not funny!" he said in protest. "Oh, yes it is," Batwings wheezed. "I haven't laughed that hard since the time Ruff rolled you out of bed and over the cliff!"

Now Ruffnut was laughing even harder. "Oh Thor, that _was_ hilarious!" she gasped, trying to get a little air before she collapsed into giggles again. "You didn't wake up until you were halfway down!"

Fishlegs was bouncing up and down with nervousness. "Uh, guys, don't you know what consequences this could have?" he asked in a quavering voice. "If Mildew finds out that Tuffnut willingly trespassed on his property without his knowledge…"

Snotlout waved him off. "Oh, Tuff can handle it," he said dismissively. "That's why he's more fun than Useless as my punching bag." He patted a still-numb Tuff on the arm affectionately.

At last Tuffnut sighed resignedly and took his frustration out on his chicken. "Fine, whatever," he mumbled. "What time should I be there?"

"How does nine o'clock sound?" Batwings suggested breathlessly, trying to recover from the aftereffects of his laugh attack. Indeed, he still emitted short little chuckles in between breaths. He continued, "That way you can find a hiding spot and get comfortable before Mildew shows up."

Overhearing this, Nightshade, indeed the dragon famous all over Berk as the third resident of Mildew's house (unbeknownst to said man, of course), slithered over and hissed encouragingly to Tuff.

Heather smiled and translated, "Nightshade says that if she can do it, then so can you." She giggled a little bit, unable to help herself at the thought of both Tuff and Nightshade sharing Mildew's residence without him knowing. The female Siren then swiped a mackerel from Batwings' plate, and pouted when he indignantly stole it back. Poor Batwings gave in and let her take it, earning himself a kiss on the cheek from her as thanks.

Lunch continued as normal, with the teenagers laughing and pushing each other around playfully. The only abnormal thing was Tuffnut's glumness – he didn't even respond when his sister shoved him out of his seat and called him a "son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge-bucket" for the heck of it. He just gritted his teeth and sat back down.

Knowing you'd be sharing a room with the grumpiest, ugliest man on the island has a way of sucking all the motivation from you.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Mildew's House**

Tuffnut, although initially all for the dare war, began to question its merits as he began his infiltration of Mildew's house at nine o'clock. The old man was currently down in the village, complaining about some pothole in the plaza that had caused him to drop his cabbages as he wheeled them into the village. But Tuffnut didn't take any chances as he climbed up the side of the house as silently as he was able.

Thanks to Snotlout and Hookfang, Mildew's roof featured a gaping hole smack-dab in the middle, which had gone unrepaired after the hectic events that had followed. Eventually, it had been mostly forgotten, but they'd definitely be hearing Mildew's complaints the next time it rained. Tuffnut chuckled to himself at the thought as he let down a rope and climbed inside.

The Thorston male let himself take a few moments to examine the inside of Mildew's house. Only Hiccup and Astrid had ever been in here, barring a few of the adults of course. It was a sparsely furnished, with a closet, table, bed, and a few decorations here and there. Mildew's pet sheep, Fungus, was chewing on the leg of the table and bleating to himself.

"Glad I missed that," Tuff muttered as he observed a painting on the wall, which depicted a younger Mildew slaying what looked like a Blundertail. Those scorpion-like monsters were the third-fiercest dragons known, rivaled only by the Night Fury and the Siren.

Tuffnut realized that he had to move or else get caught by Mildew. He began to look around for a good hiding place – he checked the closet and inside Mildew's cauldron, but rejected both. The closet didn't have enough room to lie down in, and whatever was in the cauldron smelled bad enough to make a Berk Bog-Rose vomit. All the while, Fungus watched him with a kind of bored curiosity.

Suddenly, a hiss and a slithering sound reached his ears. Tuff looked up to see Nightshade entering through the hole on the roof. "Oh, hey Nightshade," he greeted her bluntly. "I should probably get rid of that rope, huh?" He tugged on the rope, and it came falling down after a hard enough pull.

"What are you doing here?" Tuff asked, turning back to the Whispering Death. She hissed in response and pointed with her tail to Mildew's bed. A realization hit him just then. "Oh, your hole's under there?" he said, and she nodded.

Mildew's bed took the shape of a large slab of rock, which looked very heavy and immovable. However, when Nightshade pushed against it, it slid out of the way relatively easily, revealing a huge hole underneath it. She made sure that the bed partially covered the hole for some reason.

"That is so cool," Tuff smirked. "To think that Mildew doesn't even know you sleep down there…" His voice trailed off as another realization hit him, harder this time. It was accompanied by a rare occurrence – a good idea.

"Hey, you think I can join you for the night in there?" the boy asked. Nightshade grinned and rattled her teeth. He took this for a yes and crawled in, then shouted in surprise as he fell about ten feet to the bottom.

Nightshade's cavern, illuminated by the half-oval of light provided by the opening above him, looked surprisingly comfortable. Dirt and dried grasses covered the stony floor, and there was a little fire pit in the center. It looked almost like a person had made it.

The Whispering Death herself slithered in just then and reached up with her jaws toward the bed. Now that Tuff got a good look at the big slab's bottom, he could see a series of deep puncture marks in the stone. He watched Nightshade slide her long front fangs into the holes and subsequently pull the bed back over the den's entrance.

"Wow, that's impressive," Tuffnut commented. "Uh, it's also really dark in here." Indeed, without any light, it was now pitch-black. But Nightshade soon fixed that – a blast of whirlwind-like flames into the fire pit gave a dim illumination to the cave.

Tuffnut settled down on the soft dirt as Nightshade coiled up beside him and closed her milky eyes. He grinned to himself – what had seemed like the worst dare ever had turned into the most awesome camping trip ever.

_I should convince Nightshade to let me move in here permanently,_ the Thorston boy thought with a snicker as, above them, the sounds of the unsuspecting Mildew opening the door and going about his business reached his ears.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Now all you "Legends are Born" readers finally get a glimpse of Nightshade's den! Maybe when Mildew's on his deathbed, she'll burrow up from underneath him and reveal to him the truth… He'll die knowing that he's let a dragon sleep underneath him for all this time.**

**Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions, guys, I'm definitely taking them into consideration for future chapters.**

**Leave a review and a dare suggestion if you please, and see you soon!**

**Next chapter: Tuffnut dares Snaketail**


	4. Put Your Left Leg Out

**This dare was suggested by an anonymous reviewer going by the name of ShadentheDragon. Thank you and kudos for the simple yet brilliant suggestion.**

-.-.-.-.-.

**Great Hall**

Vikings can be loosely described as morning people. They're the definition of early birds (although they obviously lack feathers), awake at the crack of dawn and asleep only when the moon is high in the sky. They're such hard workers, and there is always so much to do in the village, the people are always up early to get some sort of work done.

So it came as no surprise that the Great Hall was packed only ten minutes after the sun rose above the horizon. Breakfast was underway, and among the eagerly eating adults were a bunch of comparatively scrawny teenagers. The only one that wasn't there yet was Tuffnut.

"It was so weird last night," Ruffnut said with a shiver. "I never thought I'd say this, but I already miss having my brother snoring across the room from me."

Snaketail patted her on the back. "Don't worry about it," she responded encouragingly. "It was only for one night. He'll be rattling the foundations again in no time."

"What if Mildew caught him?" Fishlegs worried, shifting nervously in his seat and too tense to eat. "What if he's getting in trouble right now? What if" – he was interrupted by Hiccup placing a soothing hand on his rather large shoulder. "Fishlegs," he said firmly. "He'll be fine. It's Tuffnut, remember?"

They waited a while, occasionally stealing glances at the great wooden doors to see if Tuffnut would enter. But he didn't, not until most of the adults had already left. Everyone was beginning to get worried when the blond boy burst in with a bang.

"What's up, guys?" he asked, sounding bored and indifferent as he usually did. A few people were awed by his usual lack of emotion. Was he affected at all by his precarious previous nights' sleep?

"So, how'd it go at Mildew's?" Heather asked. She was curious and just a little suspicious that he was acting as if nothing had happened. "Did you get caught? Were you bothered at all by the fact that Mildew could have caught you?"

Tuff only grinned and picked up a plate of bacon and eggs. "Are you kidding?" he sneered. "Nightshade let me bunk with her for the night. It was the most awesome night ever!" He pumped his fist in the air and then shoved an egg into his mouth.

"I should have known something like that would happen," Batwings shrugged. "Nightshade's always helping out. I wouldn't be surprised if she asks Tuff to live with her from now on."

At this remark, the Thorston boy grinned again and replied, "Yeah, sleeping in her cave was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was kind of hoping she'd take me in again tonight…" He trailed off, slipping away into some wistful fantasy.

Suddenly, Astrid caught Ruffnut staring desperately at her. Nodding, she said to Tuff, "I don't know. Ruff was just telling us how much she missed you last night."

"I was _not_," Ruff immediately denied. But aside from playfully shoving her brother's face into his food, she didn't do anything else besides smile gratefully at her best friend.

"Wow, Tuff," Snotlout remarked with a smirk. "You're the first guy out of any of us that's slept with a girl." Tuff's eyes grew wide as he registered this remark. "Yeah, I'm the Viking!" he cheered, reaching across the table to high-five Snotlout.

"Speak for yourselves," Batwings said with a sly grin. Heather added snidely, "Too bad a dragon's the only chance he's ever going to get," This comment prompted laughs all around, especially from Ruffnut.

But Tuffnut was far from put off by the insult – it was too sophisticated for him. "You really think so?" he asked the Siren flirtatiously, giving her what he thought was a suggestive look.

Unfortunately for him, Batwings saw immediately what he was doing – after all, Heather still had to put up with Tuffnut and Snotlout despite the fact that she was a dragon – and he went into protective mode, flaring his wings and flashing his fangs, with small licks of flame curling from his mouth. Tuff immediately shrank back from the annoyed Siren, while Heather gave Batwings a grateful smile and twined her arm around his.

Hiccup suddenly got up from the table and stretched his arms with a loud yawn, as he was still a little sleepy this early in the morning, which helped to dispel the tension. "Well, I'm off," he said cheerfully. "I want to squeeze in a little morning flight with Toothless before Gobber sets me to work knitting him replacements for all his skivvies that Snotlout ruined." Said boy blushed and shoved a potato into his mouth to stop his snappy retort – he wasn't used to the concept of doing laundry either.

"How do you ruin _laundry_?" Arachne asked with genuine curiosity, cutting up her egg into bits before popping them one by one into her mouth. "You do not want to know," her older sister cautioned with a shudder.

Flinging his legs over the bench, Hiccup walked away, hesitantly placing a farewell kiss on Astrid's cheek before he left (he still wasn't bold enough to do it without the hesitation). As he strode toward the huge doors leading outside, his metallic prosthetic squeaked on every other step.

"Best idea ever!" Tuffnut suddenly cried as Hiccup disappeared. "Oh no…" Fishlegs muttered miserably. Ruffnut snickered, practically reading her twin's mind – she knew a good idea of Tuff's when she saw it.

The long-haired boy leaned across the table to Snaketail. "I've got a dare for you," he crowed triumphantly, very pleased with himself for coming up with it. The girl sighed resignedly and looked at him, waiting to be hit with her unpleasant task.

"Your dare is…" Tuff said, pausing dramatically before continuing, "… to steal Hiccup's leg."

Everyone exchanged glances before they reacted. Fishlegs didn't look panicky for once, Arachne and Ruffnut were grinning, and everyone else looked somewhat amused. "That's a surprisingly good one," Batwings said with a smile.

"Told you it was the best idea ever," Tuff said with a smirk, leaning back in his seat proudly. "Oh, and Snaky… you have to do it while he's wearing it."

The girl snorted and rolled her eyes. "Please," she said dismissively. "I like challenges." When her gaze fell back on Tuffnut, the words "_that's why I like you"_ were written all over it.

"Well?" Astrid said after a moment, gesturing at the door with a mischievous grin. Snaketail glanced at her, then the door, then back at her. "What, now?!" she protested.

"Yes, now," Snotlout goaded her. "The sooner the better, right? Unless you're too _afraid_ of Hiccup the _Useless_," he added teasingly. Astrid slammed her fist down on her spoon, causing an egg to fly across the table and whack Snotlout in the face.

"Fine, I'll do it now," Snaketail said resignedly, getting up and walking out the door. There was a long period of silence after that.

"This should be good," Tuffnut finally said. Ruffnut agreed, "Looks like you've finally learned to use that brain of yours, gnome-breath." They banged heads and turned back to their meals.

"Should we be afraid of the wrath Hiccup will unleash on Snaketail when he gets his leg back?" Batwings asked unconcernedly. Snotlout snorted and said sarcastically, "Right after we fear the wrath of the ant whose anthill someone steps on."

Astrid scowled at him and folded her arms. "Come on, guys," she said firmly. "You underestimate him. One of these days, he'll end up frightening his own dad. Just you wait."

-.-.-.-.-.

**Berk Village**

Hiccup was on his way back to his house to wake Toothless up – he'd been kind of a late sleeper recently – when he began to get the feeling that he was being followed. It was slight, but he felt sure that someone was tailing him. Hiccup slowed down his walking speed, feeling slightly unnerved but trying to remain casual.

He wandered aimlessly through the village, hoping to lose his mysterious pursuer eventually. It took an hour, but Hiccup finally felt comfortable enough to breathe a sigh of relief and head once more for his house. He felt confident that his pursuer had gotten bored enough to leave him be.

The Haddock boy turned the corner around the slaughterhouse – there weren't any animals currently in there, thank goodness – and a sudden, aggressive yell split the peaceful atmosphere, coming from right next to him. There was a blur of motion, and then something slammed into Hiccup, knocking him to the ground with a startled shout.

Hiccup futilely struggled as Snaketail wrestled him down to the ground and pinned him there. And then, with a quick twist of her hands –*pop!* – his metallic prosthetic leg was in her hands as she sprinted away.

Dumbfounded, Hiccup simply stared after her in shock for a few seconds. Then the realization of what she had just done hit him, and he let out a long groan. _And just when I was about to go flying with Toothless!_ he thought, crawling over to the side of the building and using it to help him stand up shakily.

"Why me?" he muttered to himself as he began to limp along, using the building as a support. "She's going to have to give that back, sooner or later… Probably later…"

Such were the troubles of a one-legged boy with such _great_ friends.

-.-.-.-.-.

**I'm pretty sure Hiccup has to put up with this on a regular basis. There's no way that this is the first time his prosthetic has been stolen.**

**Anyways, thank all of you for the amazing dare suggestions I've been getting thus far, and you can bet I'll be using all of them, eventually.**

**So, drop a review and leave a dare suggestion or two, and I will see you again for the next whacky exploit!**

**Next chapter: Snaketail dares Fishlegs**


	5. A Doubly Unpleasant Endeavour

**This dare was suggested by Transmorphic Wyvern. Thank you very much, my good sir.**

**I have to admit, it was difficult to choose between all the good dares for Fishlegs requested by my readers. But this one takes the cake for sure.**

**Don't get discouraged if I didn't pick your dare – I keep going through past reviews to see if there are any good dares I haven't used yet.**

-.-.-.-.-.

Finally, later that afternoon, Hiccup managed to find Snaketail and the others. He had limped all through the village searching for her, provoking stares from all of the other villagers as he determinedly forged ahead. When he set his mind to something, he wasn't going to let something as trivial as a missing leg stop him.

He entered the gateway and crossed through the threshold and into the arena, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stare at him, including all the dragons. Hiccup was breathing hard and holding onto the wall for support, slowly hopping into the arena on his remaining foot. The sight caused everyone to burst out into laughter, while the dragons only looked confused as to what was so funny.

"I swear to Thor, that never gets old," Ruffnut cackled, clutching her stomach. Tuffnut doubled over and leaned on her shoulder while half-laughing and half-gasping. Snaketail was on her hands and knees, Arachne was struggling to maintain consciousness as her laughter made her unable to breathe, the two Sirens were fighting in vain to hold back their laughter, and Snotlout was rolling on the ground.

Astrid wheezed for breath and walked over to let Hiccup use her as a support. "Sorry about that," she said, letting out a leftover chuckle. "I mean, it _is_ kind of funny."

Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he sighed, hopping along to keep up with her. "It's always a laugh to rob the village screw-up of the only thing that manages to keep him upright." Astrid only giggled at his sarcastic banter as she led him over to where the rest of the group was still howling.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Snaketail gasped to the others. "Some of us need to breathe."

"Well, give me back my leg then," Hiccup demanded, holding out his hand. Snaketail, who indeed had the prosthetic in her grasp, only held it to her chest protectively and replied, "Mm, I don't think so. I want to see you hop around some more."

She, along with half of the people present, smirked at the sight of Hiccup's cheeks coloring in anger. "Like that isn't old enough already," he spat. "Give it back. I mean it."

Snaketail had a playful smile on her face. "Come and get it," she sang, waving it around. Hiccup only groaned and called, "Toothless!"

Immediately, the Night Fury pounced on Snaketail, throwing her to the ground and snarling at her. Her mischievous expression was instantly replaced by one of terror. "Okay, I'll return it!" she croaked as his paw came down on her ribcage, squeezing the air from her lungs.

Hiccup let go of Astrid and hopped delicately over to where Snaketail lay under Toothless' claws. He bent down carefully and snatched up the prosthetic, then stood back up and began screwing it back on, all while standing on one leg.

Multiple stunts like these had given Hiccup some impressive balancing skills.

When the leg was back on, Toothless took that as a cue to get off of Snaketail. She inhaled deeply before standing up, wincing as her ribs throbbed. "Ow," she muttered. "Remind me to never get on your dragon's bad side."

"You don't have to worry about him unless you steal my leg again," Hiccup replied darkly. "Or else I'll command him to dangle you from a cliff and let the albatrosses peck at you." Everyone present shivered at the mental image, and Snaketail only glared at him before retreating to Horrorcow's side.

"So, is everyone ready for another lesson?" Hiccup asked, turning to his chalkboard. "Ooh, ooh, yes!" Fishlegs said excitedly, and almost everyone groaned.

"Another day of listening to you prattle on about wind velocity and all that crap is enough to put a man to sleep," Snotlout said with a sour look on his face.

Tuffnut looked confused. "Velocity? What's velocity?" he asked. Batwings opened his mouth only after making sure he wouldn't burst into a round of impromptu chuckles before replying acidly, "The speed of a moving object – for example, how fast you'll go when I drop you off a mountain."

The Thorston boy brightened. "We're going to be throwing things off of mountains now?" he asked delightedly. His sister agreed, "Finally, Hiccup's lessons are getting as good as he probably is…" She leaned into him and fluttered her eyelids suggestively, before getting punched in the face by a certain Hofferson girl.

Hiccup gulped, feeling awkward as he always did when the two girls fought over him. "Ahem, could we move on to the lesson?" he hazarded, gesturing to the chalkboard.

"Not until after Snaketail gives her dare to someone," Snotlout insisted, jerking a thumb at her. She looked up from feeding her Grapple Grounder a cabbage with a look of realization in her eyes.

"Oh, that's right!" she said. "It's my turn to dare someone now, isn't it? Hmm…" she trailed off into silence as she glanced around the arena. Finally, her eyes brightened and she pointed at her target. "I'm going to go with Fishlegs!" she said decisively.

Said boy squeaked and covered his mouth in horror. Snaketail had an evil look in her eyes when she proclaimed, "Fishlegs, I dare you to help out Stoick and the other adults haul in their next catch and then eat a meal's worth of the fish for dinner… raw."

Snotlout whooped and punched Fishlegs on the shoulder. The Ingerman boy looked thunderstruck as he tried to get a protest out of his frozen throat. Tuffnut leaned over to his twin and whispered, "I take it back. _This_ is the best dare ever."

"I can't do that!" Fishlegs suddenly burst out. "Hauling in the next catch requires a lot of heavy lifting, and you know I'm built more for puzzles and intellectual stuff! And everyone knows that I have a weak stomach…" He gulped and seemed to grow queasy at the simple thought of what he had to do.

"You can skip it and lose one of your three chances, or you can go ahead and do it," Snaketail said firmly, eyes glinting. She knew that although Fishlegs wasn't that competitive, he still hated it when he fell behind in a challenge, especially when the challenge was something well within his capabilities to do. And lifting baskets and eating a few raw fish was certainly simple enough for him to do (with effort), as much as he hated to admit it.

"…Fine…" Fishlegs finally moaned. "I'm so going to regret this…" Hiccup walked over and patted his best (human) friend sympathetically on the shoulder.

"The boats should be coming back with the fish within the hour," Batwings helpfully observed. "Heather and I were flying over the sea not too long ago and saw them already coming in with their catch."

"They could definitely use the help," Heather added, smirking.

Fishlegs gave a small smile when Meatlug waddled over to give him a huge lick across the cheek. "Thanks Meatlug… well, I guess I'll see you guys at dinner…" Fishlegs said, trudging off in dejection.

"You think he's going to make it through all that lifting?" Astrid asked, half-amusedly and half-worriedly. "And if he does, you think he'll be able to stomach a plateful of raw fish?"

Hiccup folded his arms and stared after Fishlegs' retreating form. "He'll be fine," he insisted. "Fishlegs is tougher than he looks. Remember when Snotlout stole those Changewing eggs?"

The Jorgenson boy gave a small "Eep!" at the memory, then flushed bright red when everyone laughed.

-.-.-.-.-.

Fishlegs got to the docks just in time to see the trio of fishing boats returning from the open ocean. Just as Batwings had said, they looked like they had brought in a very successful haul. As thankful as Fishlegs was for that, it also meant that he had to do more work.

Even as the first of the three boats pulled into the harbor, there was a sudden roar and a shadow flashing across the ground. Fishlegs looked up quickly, just in time to see Stoick the Vast and Thornado plunging down from above to make a surprisingly gentle landing. The huge Thunderdrum opened his gaping jaws and deposited a pile of fish on the ground in front of him.

"Great work, Thornado!" Stoick laughed, patting the sea dragon on his broad head. Thornado gurgled in pleasure and licked the chief's hand as a thank-you.

Fishlegs screwed up his courage. It was now or never.

"Umm, sir?" he asked tentatively. Stoick turned around in surprise as Fishlegs took the last few steps up to the elder Haddock. "Oh hello, Fishlegs," he said. "What can I do for you this fine afternoon?"

The large boy took a moment to rearrange his words in his head before opening his mouth. "Uh, I was wondering if I could help you guys take the fish to the food storehouse?" he asked, somewhat timidly. He didn't know how Hiccup could talk to the chief like any other person, even if Stoick _was_ his dad.

The burly chief laughed and clapped Fishlegs on the back. "How kind of you, Fishlegs!" he guffawed. "Sure thing, we need all the help we can get! Climb aboard, take a basket, and carry it up to the storehouse, if you please." He walked off to grab three baskets of fish, then carried them uphill, whistling idly.

Fishlegs gulped as he hopped over the side of the boat and wrapped his arms around what looked like a lighter basket. Even so, he grunted as he used all of his strength to heave the basket off of the deck. Breathing hard, Fishlegs gingerly stepped off of the boat and onto the dock before turning his gaze to the food storehouse, all the way up on one of the highest points in the village.

He groaned slightly and began to take one exhausting step after another, occasionally shifting his grip on the heavy basket. _This is going to be one long afternoon,_ he grumbled to himself, even as the lid of the basket shifted and he suddenly got a whiff of the fish inside.

He'd have to get used to that smell, because he'd be smelling it again at dinner.

-.-.-.-.-.

**And thus begins the grueling trial of the overweight-but-undermuscled Fishlegs Ingerman. I'm actually surprised Fishlegs doesn't get seasick (or airsick, for that matter) with his pathetically weak stomach.**

**I think everyone except Snotlout and Astrid finds being a proper Viking tough, for the record.**

**Anyhoo, make sure to drop by with a review and maybe even a new dare suggestion, and I'll see you soon!**

**Next chapter: Fishlegs dares Astrid**


	6. What Goes Down Must Come Up

**This dare suggestion comes from Lighty7. This one beat the others by a ****_landslide_****.**

-.-.-.-.-.

"Come on, Fishlegs, you only have two more to go!" Snaketail laughed, unable to control herself.

Fishlegs swallowed thickly and picked up his seventh raw fish. True to Snaketail's earlier dare, Fishlegs had picked out enough raw fish for a meal after hauling up the last of the baskets to the food storehouse. And now he was choking the mackerel down, one by one.

"I'm starting to feel a little nauseous," he moaned after he chewed up and swallowed a large bite of the fish's flesh. "You have it easy," Batwings snickered, "since we dragons have to eat raw fish day in and day out." He tossed an anchovy into the air and caught it in his mouth to demonstrate, to the applause of the Thorston twins.

"You know you _can_ cook the fish, right?" Arachne pointed out, holding up her own thoroughly charred salmon to illustrate her point.

"Ugh, cooked fish tastes too… burnt," Heather said in disgust. "My parents tried to bring me up on cooked fish, and it never ended well for them." She smirked knowingly and mimed throwing up. Batwings just chuckled and reached for another anchovy.

Everyone else was too busy being entertained by Fishlegs' dinner to eat their own. Finally, the large boy swallowed his last bite of mackerel, and everyone burst into wild applause. Ruff and Tuff both patted him on the back while Snotlout shook his hand and Astrid walloped him in the shoulder in typical Astrid fashion.

"Now you can have as many cooked fish as you want," Hiccup said with a smile, offering his plate of cod to Fishlegs. But his friend regretfully shook his head and muttered, "I'm too full…"

"Just think of it this way," Snaketail said, trying to make her voice gentle. "You'll never have to go through that again – unless you're stranded in the middle of the ocean without your dragon," she added thoughtfully.

Tuffnut's eyes brightened. "I have an idea for my next dare," he said to his sister, and she shoved him out of his seat.

"Now, the only question is…" Snotlout said dramatically. "…Who's getting dared next, Fishy-boy?"

Fishlegs gulped and stared around at the expectant faces of his friends. He started to regret ever joining in on this whole "dare war" agreement. As much as he hated getting dared to do all this crazy stuff, he hated inflicting pain on his friends even more.

"Alright," he sighed, deciding to go with the person most able to take his dare – indeed, he had somewhat of a good, safe idea. "I'm going to go with Astrid."

The Hofferson girl folded her arms and glared challengingly across the table at him. "Alright, spit it out," she smirked, daring him to dare her, so to speak.

Taking a deep breath, Fishlegs couldn't help but smile faintly as he gave her his challenge. "Speaking of spitting things out… I dare you to drink a whole cup of your yaknog without doing that."

He got a bag of mixed reactions from that sentence. Hiccup looked horrified. Snotlout looked like he was about to be sick. Ruff and Tuff had sadistic grins slowly spreading across their faces. Fishlegs himself looked a little worried, and Arachne seemed more concerned. The two Sirens were glancing from one face to the other, completely befuddled. Snaketail remained expressionless – alright, a little disappointed that the large boy hadn't picked something a little harsher.

"Wait, I don't even have any yaknog left," Astrid said to him. "And I completely forget the recipe."

Fishlegs smiled a little guiltily and replied, "Um… well, I found the cup you gave me on Snoggletog behind my house…" He drew out the mug and put it on the table, its disgusting contents sloshing slightly. Fishlegs continued, "I never really got around to drinking it, and, um, I stashed it in the snow to keep it from… you know, going bad…"

"I think it's too late for that…" Hiccup muttered, earning him a punch on the shoulder. "Yeah, that stuff was bad from the get-go," Snotlout agreed, and he ended up clutching his arm in pain as well.

Astrid eyed the cup and its contents – she found it to look a little more nausea-inducing than when she had actually made it. Then again, that was probably because it had been months since Snoggletog.

And if expiry dates existed, then yaknog would have one of about a minute.

"Is this stuff really as bad as you guys say?" Astrid asked cautiously, picking up the mug and staring at it distastefully. Hiccup looked reluctant before hesitantly replying, "Well, um… no offence or anything, but yes."

He winced and flinched back in case she decided to punch him again, but she didn't. "Well at least you're being honest," the Hofferson girl said.

"Remember, you have to drink the whole cup without spitting anything out," Snotlout instantly reminded her as she raised the cup to her lips. Astrid glared at him with a look that said "_One more word, Snotlout…_" She raised the mug a little higher, hesitated, scrunched up her nose, closed her eyes – and tipped the mug so that the sludge fell into her mouth.

Instantly, her eyes bulged and her cheeks puffed out. She slammed the mug down on the table, spilling a few drops of the yaknog on the table. Everyone edged away from the drops as they landed.

Astrid slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from spewing the disgusting brew all over Ruffnut (who indeed sat across from her). Heather and Batwings looked completely shocked, as they had not expected such a dramatic reaction. The girl Siren looked at her boyfriend worriedly as he muttered "She'll be alright, she'll be alright…" under his breath, holding onto her shoulders for emotional support.

After a tantalizing three seconds, Astrid loudly gulped down the mouthful and took a few moments to recover. Her face was pale and she was shaking uncontrollably. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.

Hiccup put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but she waved him away. She didn't need him to help her through this – she was a Viking, for Thor's sake. She could handle a little food poisoning.

Finally, after finishing her breather and summoning her determination to succeed in this dare, Astrid once again held the yaknog-filled cup to her mouth. This time, though, she chugged the rest in one go. Gasping, she slammed the cup back onto the table again and took deep, shuddering breaths.

"Now that was entertaining," Ruff snickered. Astrid _would_ have come around the table to punish her physically in some way if she didn't feel so horrible. "Whoa, I think she's turning green!" Snotlout cried, starting to laugh.

Worried now, Hiccup faced her and indeed saw that she was a pale green color. "I need… to lie down…" Astrid moaned, clutching her stomach.

Hiccup got up from the table and took her hand. She grabbed it with weak fingers and stood up shakily with him. "I'll take you home," Hiccup told her. "Your parents will know what to do."

Numbly, Astrid nodded. She followed miserably behind him, taking slow, hesitant steps. Hiccup was eternally patient with her, muttering soothing things to her just loudly enough for her to hear and holding her hand all the while. After two minutes, the two of them exited the Great Hall, leaving the other teens to contemplate on what just happened.

"I hope she's alright," Heather murmured, staring worriedly at the closing doors. Batwings released his tense grip on her shoulders and responded, "Yeah, I've never seen Astrid look so… helpless before."

Arachne pushed her plate away and said quickly, "I'm not hungry anymore." She raced out of the Great Hall after her sister.

"Ah, she'll be fine," Snotlout said unconcernedly. When everyone turned around to glare at him, he protested, "What? Astrid's tough. She'll be back to normal in no time at all."

Fishlegs had a stricken expression on his face. "Oh no, I hope she isn't really sick," he worried, breath growing faster. "What if she gets food poisoning? What if some disease has been festering in that cup for months? What if she dies? What if her spirit comes back to haunt me for the rest of my life?!"

Snaketail swatted him with her empty plate. "Get a grip!" she shouted at him. In a more gentle tone, she said, "Come on, it's just not agreeing with her. Astrid will be scowling and punching everyone in a few days at the most."

Everyone guessed in the back of their minds that the first person to get punched would be Fishlegs Ingerman. Especially if she did end up contracting some life-threatening illness.

With yaknog, you never knew.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Oh, yaknog! Someone throw that mug into the sea!**

**Poor Astrid. This has to be the most fragile we've ever seen her. I'm accepting flowers and get well cards for a limited time, to be delivered to everyone's favorite bad-arse Viking warrior-in-training when I next visit her.**

**…Yes, I indeed enjoy good relations with each of the characters. Except Snotlout. But then again, he doesn't even have a good relationship with his parents.**

**Review and see you again soon!**

**Next chapter: Astrid dares Heather**


	7. The Great Outdoors

**This dare came from the almighty Megadracosaurus. You, good chap, are a great help.**

**Disclaimer: I ain't British.**

-.-.-.-.-.

**Arena**

No one in the group saw head nor foot of Astrid anywhere on Berk for three days straight. Hiccup would visit occasionally to see how she was feeling, and when he arrived at the Berk Dragon Academy for the next lesson, Fishlegs would always pounce on him and ask a flurry of questions.

"Is she OK? Is Astrid dying? Did you tell her that I'm sorry?" he fired at Hiccup on Monday afternoon the instant the Haddock boy walked in.

"Geez, Fishlegs!" Hiccup protested, waving his hands for Fishlegs to calm down. "I told you yesterday that she's recovering just fine. The yaknog just didn't agree with her, that's all."

Fishlegs breathed a huge sigh of relief. "It wasn't that bad of a dare, Fishlegs," Snaketail reassured him. "Just don't feel so guilty. Astrid knows you didn't want for that to happen."

With the Ingerman's help, Hiccup managed to get the lesson smoothly underway. After all, Fishlegs always enjoyed helping Hiccup with his lessons, and cheered up considerably. He remained cheerful all through the lesson (Calculating Physics and Aerodynamics of Dragons in Flight, his favorite!), until a certain girl walked into the arena about halfway through.

"Hey guys," Astrid grinned, which turned into a grimace as her stomach gave a painful jolt. Fishlegs stumbled up to her and sputtered an apology, but she waved him off – after giving him a hard punch in his shoulder.

"Astrid," Snotlout greeted, sidling up to her. "You still look a little pale, babe. Need me to hold your hand?"

Hiccup walked over to put an end to him, but it obviously wasn't necessary. By the time he had gotten over there, Astrid had bent Snotlout's arm behind his back, tripped him and shoved him to the ground, and used her foot to plant his face on the hard stone.

"Good to see you're back," Hiccup grinned, giving her his own light punch on her shoulder. She punched him back thrice as hard and replied, "Of course you are." She grinned and stepped off of Snotlout. "After all, who else would put this ugly troll in his place every day, hmm?"

Hiccup grinned back at her and hugged her. She pulled him into a wonderful kiss that lasted for ten seconds. Snotlout had the misfortune to stand up painfully and find their intertwined lips just a foot from his face. "Delightful," he muttered, going back to Hookfang's side to pout and shoot the couple a glare.

When Astrid had let him go, Hiccup dazedly walked back to his place beside the chalkboard and prepared to continue the lesson. Then he looked around and saw that only Fishlegs and Astrid were paying any attention.

Sighing, he closed his book. "We'll save the rest of the lesson for tomorrow," he said regretfully. Fishlegs moaned quietly, reluctantly putting his notebook and charcoal away.

"So, now what do we do?" Arachne asked, yawning and drawing Rilebolt's tail more tightly around her. "Astrid has to give a dare to someone now," Ruffnut instantly reminded them from her perch on Barf's neck. The twins had been entertaining themselves by shooting fireballs at the walls.

"Oh, that's right," Astrid said with realization, walking over to Stormfly and scratching her scales affectionately. "You'd better believe that's right," Tuff scowled at her. "It's been days! I want to see someone get humiliated!"

"I don't know if it'll be humiliating," Astrid compromised, "but I have the perfect dare for Little Miss Siren over there." She smirked and jabbed a finger at the purple-and-blue eel-like dragon curled around her boyfriend.

Heather lifted her huge head and yawned widely before shapeshifting into her humanoid form. "This wouldn't happen to be payback for kidnapping Rilebolt and stealing the Book of Dragons, would it?" she asked with a grin.

"Hey, if anyone's giving payback for that, it's my little sister," Astrid replied evenly, gesturing to the ten-year-old. "But yeah, maybe," she admitted as an afterthought.

"In that case, I probably deserve what's coming," Heather conceded graciously. "What do I have to do?"

The Hofferson girl walked right up to the Siren and gave her challenge in a clear, carrying voice. "I dare you to spend one night in Breakneck Bog. Alone."

Instantly, Fishlegs audibly screamed. Tuff and Ruff snickered while Hiccup's eyes widened. Batwings got up and walked to Heather's side, giving her a questioning look. She only grinned confidently at him.

"Don't worry, I can handle it," she assured the male Siren. "The only thing I'll have to worry about is the Gravekeeper and Smothering Smokebreath dragons there. The Gravekeepers shouldn't bother me as long as I don't dig up their future meals, and the Smokebreaths won't pay me any heed if I come without anything metal."

"Y-You're n-not scared at a-all?" Fishlegs stammered incredulously, peeking out from behind the barrel he had hidden himself behind. Heather only shot him a confident look from her jade eyes and scoffed, "Please."

Snotlout sauntered up to her and peered at the sky. "Oh no, looks like the sun's setting already," he said with mock concern. "You know, I was thinking of camping there myself, just for a change of scenery… I could come with you" –

The arrogant boy didn't even finish his pickup line when Heather flared her wings and extended her fangs, giving him her most bloodthirsty grin. He took one look at the girl and squeaked in fear, deflating instantly.

Heather finished for him sweetly, "…but I already ate, thanks." She flashed him another grin, one that sent him scurrying behind Hookfang, who looked back at him with an amused grunt.

"As Snotlout said, it's getting close to sunset," the girl Siren stated. "So I might as well get going. I'm actually quite looking forward to this…" She gave Batwings a kiss in farewell before spreading her wings and flying out of the arena.

Hiccup walked up to Batwings and watched her go. "I hope Snotlout remembers that you Sirens don't eat Vikings anymore," he said with a glance at the cowering Jorgenson.

"Who says we don't?" Batwings replied with a hungry glint in his eye as he regarded Hiccup. He laughed suddenly and added, "Just kidding. Anyway, he indeed doesn't know that, and it's going to stay that way."

The scrawny boy just grinned and walked off, dismissing the class for the day.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Berk Village**

Heather hadn't been flying for long when she caught sight of Stoick returning home after a long day of chiefing. The burly elder Haddock saw her as well and waved. She swooped down and landed at his feet, flicking her raven-colored hair back behind her.

"Hello sir," she said respectfully. "Did your duties go well?"

Stoick laughed and nodded. "Indeed they did. I had it easy today. How about you? Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Heather gestured nonchalantly toward the sea and replied, "Breakneck Bog. Astrid suggested that I spend the night there. I've heard it's quite peaceful – for dragons, at least," she added with a grin.

The chief looked at her in surprise and mild concern. Of all the answers she could have given him, he certainly hadn't been expecting this one. He opened his mouth, paused, and then started again. "Astrid isn't trying to get rid of you, is she?" he asked suspiciously.

Heather only laughed. "No, I'm positive that's not it," she replied. "Anyways, have a good night's sleep, sir." She gave him a wave, then shapeshifted into her pure dragon form and flew out over the ocean.

Stoick stared after her for some time. He had noticed that Hiccup and his friends seemed a little more – how should he put it? – dramatic lately. They'd taken to laughing loudly in the Great Hall, for one thing, and then he had witnessed Snaketail stealing his son's leg a few days ago. Finally, there was that time when Fishlegs had offered to help unload the fishing boats…

Shaking his head, Stoick lumbered up the hill to his house once more. _I'm just overthinking this, _he told himself. _The teens are just spending a little more time together. It's not like their shenanigans are going to affect anyone else._

-.-.-.-.-.

**Breakneck Bog**

Night had fallen an hour ago when Heather finally glimpsed the ring of rock spires that made up Breakneck Bog. The water in the middle of the circle was swampy and thick with plants and algae, and all the trees were on the top of the five rock islands that towered above the ocean. Waterfalls poured down from the airborne landmasses, filling the gulf in the center with swampy soup.

The Siren chose the largest of the spires as her rest stop. Flying over the forest, about fifty acres in diameter, she spied a likely roost and flew down, reverting to her part-human form just before landing. After all, her pure dragon form didn't have legs.

She had indeed chosen a good site to rest. This particular clearing didn't have any signs of wild dragons living nearby. Apart from the crickets loudly chirping away in the grass, and the occasional hoot of an owl, there was no sound. There was a single tree in this clearing, one that would definitely provide good shelter until dawn.

Heather flapped her wings all the way up the tree, spotting a nice, sturdy branch about three-quarters of the way up. She landed gracefully on it, wrapping her talons around the limb and digging them in firmly. Sighing in a satisfied way, she wrapped her wings around herself and fell into a peaceful sleep.

_Easiest dare ever._

-.-.-.-.-.

**Just wait, Heather. Just wait…**

**Also, have you "Legends are Born" readers ever wonder what a Siren looks like? Well, mosey on over to my Deviantart page to find out! User: Cm25.**

**Stop by with a review and dare suggestion, and I'll see you again soon for the next chapter!**

**Next chapter: Heather dares Ruffnut**


	8. Out With a Bang

**This chapter is dedicated to Ferdoos' suggestion. Thank you for this simple yet genius idea.**

-.-.-.-.-.

Hiccup tiredly walked outside the next morning, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Toothless had been pounding on the roof again, trying to get him to wake up so that they could go flying. He deeply breathed in the crisp, cold air, feeling refreshed as he did so.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he said in annoyance as Toothless gurgled impatiently. He yawned loudly, wishing that Toothless could stick to a normal sleeping routine. Lately, his sleep patterns had been somewhat erratic – sleeping in one day and then getting up early the next. Hiccup wondered if there was a reason for that.

"You can't wake me up early every day," Hiccup grumbled to the Night Fury as he tried to wake himself up. It didn't pay to fly the fastest dragon in the world when you were tired.

Just as he was about to climb aboard, there was a sudden screeching sound. He looked up towards the bright blue sky and saw a serpentine form streaking across the endless yonder. It was heading on a direct course for the Great Hall, and its scales glittered in the morning light.

"Looks like Heather's back," Hiccup murmured, as both he and Toothless regarded the flying Siren. "I wonder how she's doing after her night in Breakneck Bog."

Toothless looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, I know," he conceded. "I never told you that Astrid dared her to spend the night there. I'm sure she's fine if she's here now."

The Night Fury nodded in agreement, then grunted and gestured with his head to the sky. "Alright, let's go then," Hiccup said with a chuckle, hopping aboard the saddle.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Great Hall**

About thirty minutes later, Hiccup arrived at the Great Hall. Already, most of the adults were gone, having finished breakfast and already moving on to their work for the day. However, his friends were all still there, chatting and laughing as usual.

"Morning, gang," Hiccup said cheerfully, grabbing a chicken leg and a mug of yak milk. "How's everyone" – it was then that he noticed the condition Heather was in.

She looked awful, with her normally sleek black hair a complete mess. Her eyelids were drooping as if she could barely stay awake. Her clothes were scratched up a little bit, and she looked ready to collapse at any second.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked concernedly. Heather only groaned exhaustedly and slumped against Batwings. He held her comfortingly and replied, "A bunch of Smothering Smokebreaths woke her up in the middle of the night and mobbed her until she found a more secluded place to sleep."

"I was up all night after that," the girl in question said quietly. She rested her head against Batwings' shoulder and closed her eyes as if hoping to get a few moments of rest right then and there.

"At least you're safe," Astrid pointed out, surprisingly. Just because the two had made up after the whole Book of Dragons incident, didn't automatically make them best friends. In fact, Astrid was the second-last person Hiccup would have expected to hear those words from, after Snotlout.

"So, who are you going to dare?" Tuff asked while Ruff held him in a headlock.

Heather opened her eyes a crack and muttered, "Can't this wait until tomorrow? I need sleep…" She yawned deeply before closing her eyes again.

"Come on," Snotlout pressed. "Dare someone! I dare you to dare someone, in fact." He started pounding his fists on the table and chanting, "Dare! Dare! Dare!" but he stopped doing so when no one joined in.

"Fine," Heather said irritably, without opening her eyes. "I'm daring Ruff to blow something up."

The girl Thorston was so surprised that she dropped her brother on the floor. "You're serious?" she asked with a _this-is-too-good-to-be-true_ look on her face.

Heather yawned again and responded, "Yes. Make something explode. Go crazy. Just be smart about it."

Standing up just then, she muttered, "I'm going to go get some rest." She then trudged out of the Great Hall, with Batwings graciously assisting her in case she pitched forward onto the ground.

"I can't believe I get to blow something up!" Ruffnut enthused. She was so happy that she helped Tuff off of the floor and hugged him.

"Sweet, can I help?" the boy asked, too lazy to extract himself from her embrace. His sister nodded, too ecstatic to deny him and shove him onto the floor again like she usually would.

Astrid took a gulp of milk and offered Hiccup a potato. "Just be smart about it, like Heather said," she warned. "We really don't want any severe repercussions if you decide to blow up Mildew's house or Gobber's forge."

Ruffnut stopped and thought about it, then grinned slyly as inspiration struck her.

"That smile doesn't look too good," Snaketail commented. Fishlegs stared at Ruff worriedly, wondering what she was thinking about and deciding that he didn't want to know.

"It's not too late to back out of this, you know," Arachne suggested. Ruff snapped out of her fantasy and retorted, "Are you kidding? I wouldn't back out of this if Tuff's life depended on it."

"So what else is new?" Hiccup muttered.

"Don't worry about a thing," Ruffnut continued. "No one will even notice, you'll see!"

"Good luck with that," Astrid remarked snidely.

Fishlegs just covered his face in his hands and moaned. "Why do I get the feeling we're really going to regret this?" he asked no one in particular.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Farming Grounds**

The Thorston siblings and their dragon, the Zippleback twins Barf and Belch, snuck past Mulch and Bucket as the two comedic Vikings went about their duties. The duo was usually in charge of taking care of the barnyard animals, as they weren't really good warriors, and weren't the brightest of Vikings either (and that was saying something).

Ruff, Tuff, and the Zippleback all hid behind a large boulder as Mulch turned around to face their direction. "Bucket, please tell me I don't have to explain this to you again," he said sternly.

"No you don't," Bucket assured him, then suddenly scratched his bucket and asked, "Wait. Yaks lay eggs, right?"

The twins snickered and crept the distance that remained between them and the barn, making it without being seen. Smirking, they gestured for Barf and Belch to follow.

The two-headed dragon gurgled quietly in response and crawled rapidly behind the barn, barely escaping the attention of Mulch, who had turned to face the boulder from which they had come out from behind.

"Coulda sworn I saw somethin' there," he muttered, before noticing Bucket again. "No, Bucket! You don't milk the chickens!"

While Tuff made sure Barf and Belch were in position, Ruff ran around to the other side of the barn to check on the Vikings' location. They were over by the chicken coop, their backs to them. Grinning, she gave her brother a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Barf. Gas!" she instructed the Zippleback's right head. She brought her hand to her mouth and mimed breathing gas. Barf opened her mouth and let a stream of gas hiss out to cover the barn.

"I love this part," Tuff smirked, as he and his sister ran to hide behind a rock. "Belch, spark!" he commanded, snapping his fingers. The Thorstons quickly ducked behind their rock as Belch lit his sister's gas with a *kzatch*!

The isle of Berk itself trembled as the barn exploded in a mighty conflagration of fire and smoke. Vikings all over looked up, scared out of their wits, as the demolished barn rained ash, wood, straw, and animal fur all over the village. Bucket's scream could be heard across the island as he instantly went into panic mode, and Mulch didn't even bother trying to calm him down as he ran in fear as well.

And then came the animals.

Yaks, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and more bellowed and squawked in terror as the barn was violently destroyed. Even as the smoke billowed out from the explosion and obscured the entire farmlands, the stampede of barnyard animals rushed out from the blackness, down the mountains, and into the village.

Complete and utter chaos ensued as the terrified animals rampaged through the village. Those few Vikings who didn't flee in terror boldly ran toward the herd with the intent of catching them and putting them back into their pens. However, the herd slammed into them with the might of Thor's lightning, sending them running with the other Vikings.

Meanwhile, in the town square, Mildew was wheeling his cabbages down to the docks, ready to be shipped off to Bog-Burglar Island (which was in the middle of a vegetable shortage). The ground began to tremble, and the old man's eyes grew wide as he saw the immense stampede rushing right toward him. He gave a high-pitched scream of fear just before he fell and was trampled under their hooves.

Ruff and Tuff observed all of this from their vantage point on the decimated farm. "Do you think this was what Heather had in mind?" Ruff asked her brother, plucking a hard-boiled egg from the ground and popping it into her mouth.

"No, but at least no one noticed," Tuff said, very satisfied with their work.

If they had been paying closer attention, perhaps they would have heard the bellowing roar and strong wingbeats of Thornado just behind them.

-.-.-.-.-.

**… … … Wow. The twins definitely have some terrible repercussions in store for them…**

**Heather: "I thought I told you to be smart about this."**

**Ruff: "It was smart! Blowing up the barn was GENIUS!"**

**Tuff: "How come we haven't thought of that before?"**

**Heather: "…Because neither of you have brains."**

**Anyway, please review and give me a dare suggestion if inspiration strikes you.**

**Next chapter: Ruffnut dares Batwings**


	9. Please Don't Eelaborate

**This dare was suggested by ShadentheDragon. It was originally for Heather, but Batwings works just as well.**

-.-.-.-.-.

It was another two weeks before Hiccup and the group were able to meet up in the Great Hall again. The incident known island-wide as the "Barnyard Blow-up" had kept every Viking up and on their feet for days on end. Needless to say, Stoick had almost blown a blood vessel when he discovered that Ruff and Tuff were behind it.

The sheer magnitude of the damage was mind-boggling. After Stoick led a squadron of dragons to herd the animals onto Thor's Beach – the huge cliffs would effectively prevent any animals from escaping – he had immediately set to work building a new barn while Mulch and Bucket took care of the animals. A team of Vikings, which included Ruff and Tuff, helped build the barn as well as new pens for the yaks and sheep.

Meanwhile, the village was also undergoing massive repairs. These included everything from rebuilding entire houses to sweeping chicken feathers off the shelves. There were also numerous injuries – at least one Viking had gotten an eye clawed out by a rogue turkey, and others had broken bones after being trampled by yaks. Mildew himself sported embarrassing wounds after an irate goat had rammed him. Goathi was working overtime.

None of the teens were sleeping through this. Instead, they and their dragons helped as best as they could. Fishlegs and Meatlug watched over the animals on Thor's Beach and made sure none of them managed to get out. Astrid and Stormfly assisted in nailing new shingles to roofs. Hiccup and Toothless flew from one end of the island to another, helping wherever they could.

Finally, enough of the village had been fixed so that everyone could basically get back to their normal lives.

When Hiccup ran into the Great Hall to meet his friends at their usual table, he found Astrid pinning Ruff to a wall while Batwings dangled Tuff from a rafter near the ceiling. Even Fishlegs looked mad.

"What. The Hel. Were you thinking?!" Astrid demanded, twisting Ruff's arm behind her back. The other girl tried to answer, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a squeak of pain.

"Please don't blame her, Astrid," Heather protested. "I was the one that suggested it. If anyone should be blamed, it should be me."

"You weren't very specific about your dare," Fishlegs pointed out. "You also warned her to be smart about what they blew up. So it isn't your fault at all." Despite his assurances, the Siren still looked guilty.

"It was so worth it!" Tuff yelled as Batwings momentarily dropped him, then caught him again and flipped him upside-down. "You guys just don't know how to have fun." He stuck his tongue out at the others watching him from the floor.

"Is this really necessary?" Hiccup asked, trying to pry Astrid away from the girl twin. "Yes, actually," she replied, shaking him off.

"We only caused you guys a few weeks' worth of hard work!" Ruff squeaked. "Are you telling me you can't handle that?" She shut up when Astrid slammed her into the wall again.

Arachne kicked her in the shin. "We were working our butts off non-stop!" the ten-year-old said with a scowl. But before she could continue, Hiccup gently held her back.

"Please, guys," he said wearily. "Just let them go. They've already been punished, remember? They practically built the barn by themselves."

There was a long moment of silence. But finally, Astrid released her grip on Ruff, and Batwings slowly lowered Tuff to the ground, but ended up 'accidentally' dropping him while the male Thorston was still a couple of meters in the air. His helmet struck the floor with a loud *clang*.

"Now, to business. Who's getting dared next?" Snotlout asked, crossing his arms.

"Is it _really_ smart to continue this?" Hiccup asked. "I think we should just call it off for the safety of the island."

Snaketail waved it off. "We'll be more careful from now on," she assured him nonchalantly. "And we haven't got to humiliate anyone in weeks! Come on, Ruffnut, pick someone to dare."

The long-haired blonde looked around at the group with bored, heavy-lidded eyes. _It's not like any of the dares to come will be as awesome as the last one,_ she thought.

"I'm going to dare Batwings," she finally said. The Siren dropped to the ground and folded his wings with a sigh. "Please tell me you're not going to use me to burn something down," he said to her.

Ruffnut pouted. "Aw, that was what I was going to suggest," she protested, but gave in anyway. She figured he'd turn that suggestion down. But then, she brightened as she thought of something new.

"Alright then," Ruff said triumphantly. "I dare you to eat an eel."

Batwings scoffed. "Is that it?" he challenged. "You do know that we Sirens are one of the only dragons that eat eels regularly, right?"

Snotlout jumped in, eager to liven up the dare. "How about if the eel was still alive?" he asked, eyes glittering mischievously. "Is that enough for you?"

"Fine," Batwings conceded. "At least it wouldn't be as bad as drinking Astrid's yaknog." He gasped with pain as said girl crashed her fist into his shoulder.

Ruff ran off to find a live eel and came back about five minutes later with the slimy serpent thrashing in her hand. "One of the fishing boats had a few," she explained, rapidly handing the eel to Batwings. "Now eat up, it probably won't be alive for long judging from the way its gills are flapping."

Batwings swallowed thickly as he viewed the eel up close. It was a small one, about a foot long, but its snapping jaws were full of needle-sharp teeth. He really didn't want to think of what would happen if those punctured his esophagus on the way down – or if it didn't cooperate and went down the wrong pipe.

Finally, he decided that he'd have to eat it tail-first. Bracing himself, he closed his eyes and shoved its tail into his mouth.

"That's really disgusting," Snaketail commented, as Fishlegs covered his mouth and Hiccup looked away. Even Snotlout looked put off as they observed the squirming eel slid bit by bit into Batwings' mouth and down his throat.

Finally, the eel's head vanished, and Batwings swallowed one last time. He shuddered as he felt the serpent sliding into his stomach, thrashing all the while. "Ugh, you really don't want to experience this," he muttered, clutching his neck lightly.

But just then, he winced and held his belly. "Oh no," he croaked, turning a pasty green color. "What is it?" Heather asked worriedly, but at the same time asking herself if she really wanted to know.

Batwings winced again and doubled over, as if he was having a really bad cramp. "It's still thrashing in there!" he blurted, trying not to be sick.

Fishlegs paled at the thought and re-clamped his hands over his mouth. Ruff and Tuff snickered. Snotlout backed away, and Hiccup gulped and looked as if he were about to be sick himself.

"Need… fresh air…" Batwings mumbled, staggering to the door. Heather followed him, concerned for his health. For the second time in as many weeks, the two Sirens walked out, this time with their positions reversed.

"That has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed," Astrid muttered, wrapping her arm around Hiccup's shoulders as he breathed deeply through his mouth, trying to get rid of the nausea.

"Are you kidding? That was great," Ruff smirked. "We need more gruesome things like that to happen."

"Oh really?" Astrid asked scathingly. "Ever wonder what color your innards are? Because when Batwings gets better, he's going to rip you apart."

Ruffnut's eyes widened, and Tuff laughed. "I'd love to see that," he sneered, shoving his sister's helmet over his eyes.

Readjusting it, she replied, "Yeah, that would be so cool! I've always wanted to see my insides!"

"Well, prepare for them to become your outsides," Snaketail said warily, pointing to the door. Batwings and Heather were coming back in, with the former looking weak, but otherwise fine as he slowly advanced on the girl that had put him through so much pain and suffering.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Uh oh. Ruffnut managed to get an angry dragon on her tail!**

**Poor Batwings, though. I almost threw up myself trying to imagine what it would be like to swallow a live eel. Or any live animal, really.**

**We have one last person to dare before the gang moves on to Round 2! Leave a review and dare suggestion, and see you then!**

**Next chapter: Batwings dares Arachne**


	10. Go to Hel-met

**This dare was requested by an anonymous guest. I originally had this very same dare planned for Hiccup later on, but I decided to use it for Arachne instead.**

**I hate driving lessons, they're tedious and they cut into writing time.**

-.-.-.-.-.

Surprisingly, Batwings didn't rip Ruffnut to shreds upon recovering from his earlier harrowing ordeal – swallowing a live eel and forcing to endure its thrashing until it suffocated.

Anyone else would have done it – even Hiccup would have tried if he had been forced to go through that internal agony. But to everyone's shock, the one person with the ability to do just that took it uncharacteristically well.

"It was her dare, and I accepted it," Batwings confessed. "I feel obligated to live with the consequences and just let them slide. It's partially my fault, and I doubt Ruff had such an outcome in mind. If I'm getting payback, it's going to be when I next dare someone."

Ruff let out the breath she never knew she was holding. "And for a second there, I thought you were going to kill me," she said, relieved. "So did I," Tuffnut agreed, looking disappointed.

"Anyway, I'm willing to put this behind me," Batwings continued, retching a little as his stomach gave a leftover lurch. He flexed his wings to steady himself and went on, "Now, as for who I'm going to dare, I'm going with the one who hasn't had a chance to do something yet. I'm daring Arachne."

The girl sighed. "I should have seen this coming," she said to herself.

"Just don't pick anything too… drastic," Astrid cautioned, coming to the defense of her sister. "She's only ten years old."

Batwings held up his hands in protest. "Yes, I'm well aware of that," he replied. "I have a reasonably good dare for Arachne, something that shouldn't be too much trouble for her…"

Snotlout was impatient, and disappointed that he didn't get to see Ruff get mauled, which added up to a bad mood. "Well?" he demanded. "Let's hear it already!"

The Siren stifled a burp as his stomach lurched again, and when he was certain he wasn't going to throw up, he gave Arachne her dare. "Your dare," he told her, "is to steal and hide Stoick the Vast's helmet."

Several people gasped at this. Hiccup was one of the loudest. They all knew the consequences of what could happen if things went wrong. Arachne could get banished, for one thing, if she was caught, and if the helmet wasn't found… then things on Berk could get pretty nasty.

"Do you have any idea what you just told Arachne to do?" Fishlegs asked worriedly. Batwings shrugged and responded, "Not really. I'm not all that familiar with you Vikings or your nonsense ideology."

Fishlegs gulped, then recited, "If the helmet of a Chief is lost and then found by someone other than said Chief, then the discoverer of the helmet can potentially gain power over the Chief by holding onto it as a sort of hostage. Stoick's helmet is one of the symbols that pretty much mark him as the Chief. If he loses it, then the villagers might either lose faith in Stoick or pick a new Chief entirely."

Batwings turned pale. "Oh," he said simply, not having known that particular bit of information. "Should I change the dare then? I really don't want things getting out of hand."

"No, it's fine," came the reply, and everyone looked over at Arachne, who was surprisingly calm. "I accept the dare and am prepared to live with the consequences. I'm certain I can pull it off without anything too bad happening."

"Are you absolutely certain about this, Arachne?" Astrid asked concernedly. "There are too many things that could go wrong."

Her sister waved it off. "I'll be fine," she assured her older sister cheerfully. "I know just when to take it, and just where to hide it. Everything will be okay, I swear."

She then turned to Hiccup and pleaded, "Don't tell your dad that I'm the one that did it, all right?" The scrawny boy looked extremely reluctant, but at last gave a begrudging nod.

While initially stunned at the magnitude of the dare's consequences, Batwings and Heather now looked rather unconcerned. When they thought about it, they decided that Berk's political matters didn't really affect them – they could just fly back to Siren Island and start a new life there. That wasn't to say that they'd be worried about their friends in the process, but at least they'd be alright.

As it turned out, no one even had to worry. Arachne, true to her word, knew just what to do in order to ensure Stoick could keep his job.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Hiccup's House**

The sun had set, and night had fallen. Vikings all over Berk had long since retreated into their homes and were now soundly sleeping. No creature on Earth slept deeper than a tired Viking. Or snored louder.

Arachne quietly ran across the village after determining that there was no one lingering outside. She reached Hiccup's house within a minute, and it was then that she allowed utmost caution to take over. She could not allow anyone to wake up and witness what she was about to do.

As silently as the girl was able, she pried the door open and hesitantly peeked in. There was no one in sight. Toothless' rumbling snores could be heard coming from upstairs in Hiccup's room. But from behind a door on the far side of the room, an even louder noise could be heard.

Curious, Arachne crept across the room, leaving the door wide open in case she needed a speedy escape. She crossed the dark wooden space relatively quickly, making sure that the wooden floorboards wouldn't squeak loudly when she stepped on them. Opening the door, she allowed a moment to assess what lay inside.

Stoick the Vast lay on his massive brick of a bed, the blanket that covered him not doing a very good job of doing so. In fact, all that it covered was his impressive chest and stomach. He was still in the clothes he worked in every day – after all, he wouldn't be very Chief-ly if a crisis happened in the middle of the night and he was forced to answer the call in his pajamas. The room itself trembled from the sheer volume of his snores.

Arachne had never heard the roar of the Red Death, but she felt that this noise came close to it in terms of enormity.

Quickly, her eyes flashed across the room, noting the boots on the floor, the sword hanging on the wall, the Viking-sized closet, the horned helmet perched on the footboard… _aha!_

More silently than a Whispering Death's murmur, she tip-toed to Stoick's bed and snatched the helmet. _Now,_ she thought, _I just need to find a place to hide it._

Arachne crept back out of the room and searched for a good place to stash the helmet. It needed to be good enough so that Stoick wouldn't find it immediately, but bad enough so that he wouldn't spend hours searching, hours that would most likely cause him to tear out his beard in anxiety.

Finally, the girl hung the helmet on the coat-hanger, and then covered it with Stoick's fur cloak. She stepped back to admire her work, deemed it satisfactory, and quietly walked back out of the house.

When she had shut the door, Arachne bolted across the village and back to her house, silent as a spider. After all, her name wasn't "Arachne" for nothing.

-.-.-.-.-.

The next morning, Hiccup awoke to a crashing, clattering noise from downstairs. Toothless sat up, looking fully alert with his ears perked and his wide eyes directed at the staircase. "What in Odin's name…" Hiccup muttered, jumping out of bed and walking down the stairs.

When he was about halfway down, he noticed his dad rummaging around the room, crawling on his hands and knees. He turned over the table and chairs without a second thought, muttering to himself.

"Um, you alright, Dad?" Hiccup asked curiously with a hint of worry buried in his voice.

Stoick suddenly jerked upright, banging his head on his usual chair. "OW! Oh, morning, son," he said, rubbing his head. "Hiccup, I need your help. My helmet is missing! I just hope that someone didn't make off with it… Mildew or Madguts would undoubtedly do something awful if they got their hands on my helmet…"

He went back to searching, not seeing Hiccup roll his eyes nor hearing him sigh heavily.

"Come on, bud," he said to Toothless, who had followed him downstairs. "Let's help, and I hope Arachne was smart about where she hid it…"

-.-.-.-.-.

**People in those days probably had a lot of folklore and superstitions, and I can certainly imagine the Chief's helmet being a pretty important symbolic item in terms of Chief-dom. Arachne probably would have been tied to a mast and shipped off if she had been caught in the act.**

**Well, now that everyone's been dared, Round 2 shall commence! New and ever more embarrassing dares await the teens as, unbeknownst to them, the adults slowly begin to notice their island-shaking exploits…**

**Review and give me some new suggestions, and I'll see you soon!**

**Next chapter: Arachne dares Astrid**


	11. A Change in Fashion

**Ugh, couldn't think of a good pun for the title of this chapter. That makes me mad.**

**Anyway, thanks again to Ferdoos for this suggestion, as well as StoryGirl.**

**Sorry for not posting this sooner. I was at my grandmother's house for three days, without Internet – and then the day I came back, the power went out and I couldn't post it then, either.**

-.-.-.-.-.

When Astrid saw Arachne again, it was the early morning. The older girl was awakened by Stormfly's hungry screech. Yawning widely and irritably, she grabbed her axe and shoulder pads and stumbled outside to the yard, where her Nadder slept just outside her room.

Her little sister was already up and at 'em, tending to Rilebolt. The Skrill was eagerly gulping down a huge basket full of chicken legs. Chicken had the mysterious effect of increasing Rilebolt's strength and stamina, thus allowing her to fly at even faster speeds. Ever since Arachne had discovered this, the dragon had refused to eat anything else, knowing that she'd finally stumbled on a way to best her eternal rival, Toothless, at flying.

"Morning, sister!" Arachne called, waving Astrid over. The latter girl picked up a heavy basket of salmon waiting for her next to the door and heaved it over to Stormfly. The Nadder was, as always, preening and making sure she looked presentable to the other dragons. Of course, being a Nadder, Stormfly was in her opinion _never_ presentable enough.

However, the dragon was willing to stop her morning routine in order to greet Astrid with a happy chirp and lick across her cheek. She grinned and scratched Stormfly behind her head spikes, then opened the basket and allowed her access to her breakfast.

"So, how'd it go last night?" Astrid inquired of her younger sister.

Arachne scoffed and waved a dismissive hand at her. "It was easier than I expected," she replied. "Stoick sleeps heavier than a bear in hibernation. I just took the helmet and hid it underneath his fur coat."

"Well, at least you didn't hide it where someone else could find it," Astrid admitted.

Arachne nodded and began dusting off Rilebolt's scales. Constantly crackling with static electricity, the Skrill was a literal dust magnet.

Just then, the two girls looked up to see Stoick walking past, fully dressed and with his impressive helmet indeed sitting on his head. However, the Chief would constantly roll his eyes upward and reach up with his hand, as if checking if his helmet was still there. He then meandered off towards the plaza.

"Thank Odin he found it," Arachne said with a sigh of relief.

Astrid nodded and agreed, "It must have been really nerve-wracking for him when he couldn't find that helmet first thing in the morning."

They were silent for a few seconds before Astrid spoke up again. "Are you coming to the Academy this morning? Hiccup said he'd be doing an early lesson today."

"Yep!" the younger Hofferson said cheerfully. "I like hanging out with you guys. It's so much more fun than waiting around the house with Mom trying to teach me to be a lady." She shuddered at the thought, but suddenly brightened and looked at her older sister craftily.

"Speaking of which," she mused, "I have to dare someone now, don't I?"

Astrid nodded, and Arachne grinned in anticipation. "Awesome!" she enthused. "I'm going to dare you, Astrid!"

Said girl rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why me?" she asked.

"Because you're my sister, and I know exactly what to do in order to embarrass you," Arachne said matter-of-factly.

Astrid considered that. "Point taken," she conceded. "So what's my dare, then? If I have to kiss Snotlout, I'm hanging you up as Timberjack bait."

The ten-year-old giggled at the thought – not being strung up for the dragons, obviously, but the other part. "Oh, that would be priceless," she laughed, slowly calming down. "But don't worry, I know not to give you any dares like that."

Arachne finished cleaning her dragon and looked at Astrid thoughtfully. "Hmm, I think I've got it," she finally said. "I dare you, sister, to wear a frilly dress to the Academy and then tell Hiccup you love him."

Her sister's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Arachne tried to hold in her laughter at Astrid's reaction. Her right eye was twitching and she seemed totally appalled at the very thought of doing such a thing. _Wait, what if that dare was a little too much? _Arachne worried.

Finally, Astrid composed herself and turned back toward Stormfly. Facing away from Arachne, she muttered audibly, "If you weren't my sister, I'd push you off a cliff and into the sea as a snack for the Scauldrons."

Arachne grinned. She'd won. Now all she had to do was look forward to the upcoming spectacle at the Berk Dragon Academy.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Arena**

Hiccup couldn't help wondering why Arachne was in such a good mood. She had come about an hour earlier with Rilebolt nipping at her heels – and then Toothless' tail, from which Hiccup had to separate her. For some reason that no one could put their finger on, she was grinning like a maniac and giggling to herself.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood today?" Tuff asked bluntly. "My troll of a sister is never that happy, not even when she breathes too much of Barf's gas."

Ruffnut then commenced beating him with his own helmet until he was sprawled out on the ground and smiling stupidly. "I love the taste of hard gravel in the morning," he muttered contentedly.

Arachne giggled again at some secret thought and explained, "Let's just say that something really good is going to happen in a few minutes."

"Tuffnut getting revenge on Ruffnut for what just happened?" guessed Snaketail.

"Hookfang and Barf and Belch fighting again?" hazarded Ruff.

"Hookfang and Barf and Belch fighting because of Ruff getting revenge on Tuff?" questioned Snotlout.

The girl shook her head and grinned even wider.

"Please tell me that this doesn't have anything to do with a dare you issued someone this morning?" moaned Batwings, clutching his head – he had woken up with a huge headache, and this dare war probably wasn't going to help his suffering at all.

"Bingo," Arachne said triumphantly. "I dared Astrid to do something that she really did not want to do."

"I was wondering what was taking Astrid so long," Hiccup said, frowning with worry. "You didn't tell her to steal another pair of Gobber's undies, right?"

Thankfully, the younger Hofferson shook her head. "Nah, she got in a lot of hot water when she did that, so I didn't want her to get on Gobber's bad side again."

Fishlegs looked left and right before saying, "I don't see Astrid anywhere! Are we going to start the lesson now?" He had been looking forward to this one all week – Physiology of Dragon Wings and Tails and How they Help in Flight.

"Um, you guys might want to turn around…" Heather said with the ghost of a smile on her face.

Everyone did so – and their jaws practically hit the floor in unison.

"Whoa, look at Astrid!" snickered Tuff, pointing.

Indeed, the scowling girl was wearing something no one could have expected in several million years – a plain white dress that conformed to her physique and that had frilly lace around the edge of the skirt, sleeves, and neck. It looked like something one would wear at a wedding.

All in all, Astrid looked prettier than usual despite the look of pure murder she was giving her sister.

Hiccup was completely flabbergasted and blushing faintly, unwilling to stare but not being able to help himself. Ruff's eyes were as wide as they could go. Arachne was in the middle of a giggling fit. Snotlout… well, let's just say he was behaving rather predictably.

Until Astrid nearly broke his arm.

"This was your dare?" Batwings asked Arachne, both eyebrows disappearing underneath his hair.

"Just wait, it gets better," the little girl wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye.

And indeed it did. Astrid took a deep breath to calm herself before taking long, slow strides towards Hiccup. The lanky boy grew more and more frightened as she advanced on him, clearly not wanting to experience her anger and frustration firsthand.

He was pretty pale by the time Astrid reached him. She glared at him for a few seconds while he frantically tried to figure out what he did wrong. Then her stare softened as she leaned forward and tenderly kissed him.

Hiccup was surprised, to say the least. He had no idea what was bringing this on, but he was never one to pass up a kiss from his girlfriend. He tentatively pushed forward and responded to her affection in kind, prompting her to giggle softly and push the kiss deeper.

After about thirty seconds, they broke apart, faces flushed and breathing hard from their momentary lack of oxygen. "What, that's it?" Arachne demanded. "You were supposed to tell him that you loved him!"

Astrid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I did," she replied. "I just didn't use words." She gave Hiccup a wink, to which he smiled and turned a brighter shade of red.

"That's dumb," her sister sulked, slumping against Rilebolt's flank.

There was a stunned silence that pervaded the arena for a few moments. Then Tuff broke it with a blunt, "Well that was awkward."

"It was cute," Ruff smirked.

"It was, wasn't it?" Heather said teasingly.

"No, that was just depressing," Snotlout mumbled.

"We can argue over what it was later," Hiccup interrupted. "Why don't we get to the lesson now?"

"Finally!" exclaimed Fishlegs.

Astrid held up a hand. "Hang on," she said. "Hold the lesson until I finally get out of this stupid thing." She scowled as she regarded the dress she was trapped in.

Snotlout looked hopeful until Astrid left the arena to get changed into her regular clothes. Then his expression changed to one of disappointment as he lay down against Hookfang's side.

"That dare wasn't too bad," Snaketail said with a shrug.

Batwings agreed, "Yes, you're right. It was humiliating but not harmful." The male Siren spared Ruff a hard look before yawning and curling up on the ground beside Nightshade, shapeshifting as he did so. Heather joined him after a moment.

Hiccup stared at the exit from where Astrid had left and murmured to himself, "It wasn't _that_ humiliating, to tell the truth…"

-.-.-.-.-.

**A lot of you submitted dares that involved Hiccup, and it was pretty hard to choose between all of them, to be completely honest. So I went with the two best suggestions instead of just a single one.**

**Anyway, this chapter was less funny than it was – what's the expression? "Fluffy"? – but hopefully we can get back to the humor in the next chapter.**

**Speaking of which, review in the meantime and look forward to what happens next!**

**Next chapter: Astrid dares Ruffnut**


	12. Actions Speak Louder than Words

**Yes, they do, unfortunately.**

**This dare was suggested a while ago by ShadentheDragon.**

-.-.-.-.-.

**Great Hall**

Thankfully, Astrid was back to her old cheerful self by the time dinnertime rolled around. Of course, that was due to her being back in her usual clothes and not the garment-which-could-not-be-named.

"Ah, it's nice to be able to move again!" Astrid sighed, stretching exaggeratedly. "You have no idea how liberating it is to be out of that you-know-what."

"And we never will have an idea, because none of us will ever be caught dead in one of those," Snaketail remarked snidely.

Astrid brightened and looked slyly across the table at Snotlout. "Hmm, that gives me an idea…" she mused with a smirk.

The Jorgenson boy nearly choked on his turkey leg. "Nuh-uh! No way! I am NOT wearing a dress, no matter who dares me!"

"You do know that it'll cost you one of your three chances if you refuse, right?" Batwings pointed out. "Then you'll be that much closer to losing."

"A pity, he'd look good in a dress," Heather sneered.

Snotlout said nothing, but he flushed beet red and stuffed his face with turkey so he wouldn't be tempted to say something that he would regret.

"Speaking of which, you should wear dresses more often, Astrid," Ruffnut said cheekily. "It looked very slimming on y – OW!" she grunted as she got slugged hard in the shoulder.

"Oh, you think so, do you?" the Hofferson girl retorted. "I'll have you know that it was the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to go through!"

Hiccup looked nervously from one girl to the other as they glared daggers at each other. "Can we all please just calm down?" he asked, but they paid no attention to him.

"It can't have been that bad," Ruff said.

"Believe me, it was," spat Astrid.

"Really? So you won't be able to think of any worse dares?" the girl Thorston asked.

"You want to bet?" challenged Astrid. "I've got plenty of unpleasant dares worked out for _you_."

Ruff leaned back in her seat and grinned. "Bring it on. You're talking to the girl who blew up the barn and indirectly destroyed the village, and enjoyed it. There's nothing I can't handle."

"You barely handled building the new barn, as I recall," Fishlegs said before being silenced by a glare from Ruffnut.

Astrid grinned mirthlessly in anticipation. "Oh, I'm going to love seeing you try to handle this," she laughed. "I dare you to go one day without fighting with Tuffnut. In fact, you have to be nice to him."

Ruff's eyes bugged out and the corner of her mouth twitched. "That's impossible," she objected.

"Whatever happened to 'there's nothing I can't handle'?" mocked Astrid with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"She has a point," Hiccup agreed.

"Hey, where is Tuff anyway?" Arachne asked dubiously, looking around for him.

She was answered by the sound of a door slamming. "Hey guys," Tuff said, bored. He sat down and shoved his sister out of the way before stealing a fistful of potatoes from her plate.

Astrid, Hiccup, and everyone else were all looking at Ruffnut expectantly. She picked herself up and met each of their gazes, only to end up sighing and giving in. She turned toward her brother, looking absolutely pained about what she had to do.

Tuff was looking at her, expecting her to shove him back and lash him with a few dirty words in the process. But his sister just forced a smile and spoke in a voice that was supposed to be calm, but carried an undercurrent of hostility.

"H-Hey, Tuff, what t-took you so long? I was getting w-worried," she stammered, forcing the falsely kind words out.

_I will kill you, Astrid,_ she seethed inwardly.

Her brother was looking at her with bewilderment. "Um, well, I kinda ruined Dad's Gronckle's saddle, so he forced me to help Gobber fix it. Why, what's it to you?" he added rudely.

Although Ruff looked like she wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face for using that tone with her, she held herself in check and gave him another fake smile. "Oh, n-no reason. No reason at all!" she said innocently. "I was just wondering, that's it. C-could you pass the salt, p…p…please?"

Now Tuffnut was completely dumbfounded. Everyone else was impressed that Ruffnut even knew the word 'please', and even more so that she was able to say it to her brother.

"Has she been breathing Zippleback gas again?" the Thorston boy whispered across the table to Fishlegs. He caught Ruff's death stare and gave a little squeak of fright, frantically shaking his head.

"Well then, what's wrong with her?" Tuff asked bluntly, throwing the question to the group.

"No idea," Astrid chirped merrily.

"None whatsoever," agreed Batwings.

"Maybe she's getting tired of fighting with you," suggested Arachne.

Ruffnut looked like she was going to explode with rage and frustration at the situation she was stuck in. But she faked a sweet tone and answered, "Tuff, would you be a good brother and smack Astrid for me?"

When Tuff looked over and met the Hofferson girl's glare, he shook his head, forgetting to be shocked or confused at Ruffnut's sudden politeness. "Nah, I don't hit girls," he said.

"Scared?" Heather asked him with a smile.

"Yeah, that's probably it," Tuff replied halfheartedly, still looking at his sister like she had grown another head. "Seriously, what's gotten into you?" he asked, not rudely but with genuine interest.

It took all of Ruff's willpower not to crack and beat him with her turkey leg.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Snaketail said brightly. "Are we going to go flying tonight?"

"Argh, I completely forgot about that!" Hiccup muttered, chastising himself for forgetting. "Yeah, I know Snaketail, Astrid, and Snotlout are all going to be joining me. What about the rest of you?"

"_Noooooo_ thanks," Fishlegs said instantly. "Meatlug's scared of the dark."

"I'll bet," Astrid smirked, making the Ingerman blush.

"I can't," Arachne said dejectedly. "Mom wants me in bed by sunset."

"Neither can I," Batwings replied with a loud yawn, and Heather nodded her agreement. "You know me – I can barely stay awake at _this_ un-Thor-ly hour, much less past it. Heather, you can go if you want," he added.

"No, I'm not going if you aren't," the female Siren replied loyally.

"I guess I could come too," Tuff said with his signature grin. "What about you, sis? You wanna come along?"

Everyone's mouths opened in a collective gape. Ruff's forced politeness was subconsciously convincing Tuff to _return_ it!

The girl twin grinned – although whether it was real or not couldn't be told. "Sure. I kind of have to though, don't I? Same dragon and all that."

Everyone got up from the table and walked outside, except for the ones who wouldn't be joining them. The twins were leading while the others lagged behind.

"Can you believe that she was actually able to finish dinner without fighting with Tuff once?" Snaketail enthused.

"Yeah, that was pretty unbelievable," Hiccup agreed.

Just then, there was a shout from up ahead. "I'll show you fat!" shrieked Ruffnut, pouncing on her brother and sending them tumbling down the huge staircase leading down into the village, fighting all the way down.

"Never mind," Snotlout snorted, peering down to watch them.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Snaketail sighed.

Astrid was grinning. "Well, she failed the dare," she said, satisfaction written all over her voice. "Guess that means she's one step closer to losing this dare war!"

Meanwhile, the sounds of the twins' shouts came loud and clear as they brawled at the bottom of the staircase.

-.-.-.-.-.

Stoick and Gobber paused their hearty meal to stare over at the table the teens always sat at. The majority of them had left, except for Batwings, Heather, Fishlegs, and Arachne.

"Yup, they're up ta somethin'," Gobber said. "The twins've never spent a single meal in here without fightin'. I think yeh were right when yeh made yer suspicions known."

The Chief nodded and took a swig of his ale. "Let's see," he mused, starting to count on his fingers. "First you say that Hiccup and Snotlout came to you with unusual requests, then I saw Snaketail steal my son's leg in broad daylight. Then there was the time Fishlegs asked me to help haul in the fleet's catch, then when Astrid got unusually sick, and finally when the Out – ahem, dragon girl apparently went to spend the night in Breakneck Bog, of all places!"

Gobber raised his eyebrows. "Call it a crazy hunch, but I have meself a feelin' that somethin' mighty fishy is goin' on around here, and it concerns them teens."

His friend patted his head to reassure himself that his helmet was still on his head. He definitely hadn't yet forgotten waking up to find his helmet missing, or finding that the twins were behind the massive stampede a few weeks ago. Those were just more examples of the unusual activity happening on Berk these days.

_Just what are Hiccup and his friends up to?_ Stoick wondered.

-.-.-.-.-.

**That's our first failure. Strike one for Ruffnut!**

**Looks like Stoick and Gobber are starting to catch on! How long will it be before they finally step in and try to interfere with the dare war? And will Hiccup and the gang come up with creative ways to avoid the adults if this happens?**

**Review and send a dare suggestion, please! See you later!**

**Next chapter: Ruffnut dares Hiccup**


	13. A Rough Dare from Ruffnut

**This dare was suggested by CeCdancer. It's nothing special, but it'll work, I guess.**

**Also, school's started for me, so these chapters will be published at a slower rate.**

-.-.-.-.-.

Hiccup woke up once again to the sound of rattling shingles. He groaned and stumbled out of bed, yawning deeply and basically acting dramatic. "That overgrown newt had better find a stable sleeping pattern soon," he muttered to himself. "I'm going crazy with this 'waking-up-early-then-suddenly-waking-up-late-the- next-day' thing."

The scrawny boy went outside, where the chilly morning air hit him like a fist, waking him up almost immediately. He looked directly upwards to see Toothless sitting there on the roof, giving the boy his signature smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Bossy," Hiccup said, unable to prevent himself from breaking out in a grin. Toothless' smile was definitely infectious. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to wake up a little more before we can go flying this morning, alright?"

The Night Fury gave a disappointed moan, but that quickly changed to a happy purr when Hiccup scratched him behind the ears.

Hiccup suddenly looked past Toothless and saw a crowd of Vikings already heading up the stairs to the Great Hall. He saw that some of his friends were among them.

"Toothless, you mind if we go flying right after I have breakfast?" the Haddock boy asked. "It won't take long for me to get something to eat and shake off this fatigue."

Toothless gurgled understandingly and licked his friend across the face, showing him that he didn't mind. As long as they got to go flying, he didn't really mind how long it took for Hiccup to get ready.

Hiccup said good-bye to Toothless and headed towards the Great Hall. If all went as planned, he'd grab breakfast, eat and talk with his friends, leave in good spirits, and – having woken up fully – go flying with Toothless.

However, the scrawny Chief-to-be should have been smart enough to remember that with his whacky group of friends, things rarely, if ever, went as planned.

When he entered the Great Hall, Hiccup immediately slouched slightly and rolled his eyes in exasperation. The only free spot at his and his friends' usual table was between Snotlout, who was never a pleasant boy to sit next to, and Ruffnut, who took every opportunity she could get to wrest him away from Astrid so that she could have her way with him.

But Hiccup wasn't one to let an unfortunate seating arrangement get him down. So he perked himself up, grabbed a plate filled with eggs and sausages, and walked over to greet his friends.

"Hiccup!" cried Ruffnut, overjoyed to see him. "There's an empty spot right here, sweetie." She edged away from the unoccupied seat and gave him a flirtatious look, shoving her brother out of her way as she did so.

The Haddock boy gave her a pained look and then turned to Snotlout. "You wouldn't mind trading seats with me, would you?" he asked desperately.

As could be predicted, however, Snotlout just laughed. "Are you kidding?" he asked with his mouth full of eggs. "You can deal with that crazy girl on your own."

"Thanks so much," Hiccup muttered bitterly before sighing and sitting down heavily between him and Ruff.

The Thorston girl was on him immediately. "Bacon?" she offered sweetly, pushing her plate nearer to him.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm good," Hiccup replied, shooting Astrid a desperate glance across the table.

She didn't disappoint him. "You should have heard him laughing when you failed your dare so badly yesterday," she said with a smug grin. Ruff just blushed and looked at her plate.

Hiccup smiled thankfully at Astrid, and she returned the smile.

"I honestly thought that she'd be able to pull it off," Snaketail mused.

"But as it turns out, she wasn't," Batwings pointed out.

"Yeah!" agreed Tuffnut. "You underestimated how much my sister can't stand to be around…" He trailed off when he finally realized what he was saying.

"Speaking of which, doesn't Ruff get to dare someone next?" Arachne piped up. "Pass the salt please, Fishlegs," she added.

Ruffnut immediately cheered up and propped her chin up on her fist, eyes sliding once more in Hiccup's direction. "I'm going to pick you to dare next, Hiccup," she told him, fluttering her eyelashes.

A groan escaped Hiccup's mouth, and he banged his head gently on the table exasperatedly. "Alright, what do I have to do?" he moaned, secretly fearing the answer.

Ruff made a big show of thinking about it. "Hmm, good question," she replied with mock thoughtfulness. "I have _so_ many ideas. Let's see now… I _could_ dare you to ditch Astrid and hang out with me for a day or two…"

Hiccup wasn't sure what scared him more – Ruff's seductive expression or Astrid's ferocious one.

"…But I'd most likely get beaten up for that," the Thorston girl admitted. "So, I'm going to have to pick the next best idea and dare you to, I don't know, go an entire day without riding Toothless?"

A huge spluttering sound occurred as Hiccup choked on his sausage. He started hacking and coughing violently, trying to dislodge the morsel from his throat. Finally, Snotlout whacked him on the back so hard that the chunk of meat went flying across the table and hit Snaketail in the forehead. Also, Hiccup's right shoulder blade went numb.

"Do I _have_ to?" Hiccup protested. "I promised Toothless we'd go flying right after breakfast!"

"My, my, that's too bad," Ruff sang playfully. "You could always go with the first option… I'd personally prefer that myself…"

"Alright, fine!" he announced, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I'll stay off of Toothless' back for a day." In the back of his mind, he wondered how he'd explain this to the Night Fury himself.

The rest of their breakfast passed as it usually did. The twins fought, Fishlegs chatted with Snaketail and Arachne, Snotlout flirted with Astrid, and Batwings and Heather mischievously stole fish from each other's plates. Hiccup just slumped in his seat and unenthusiastically ate his meal. The fact that he wouldn't be able to fly with Toothless today took the taste out of his mouth.

"Cheer up, Hiccup," Fishlegs said on his way out the door, patting his friend on the back. "You can still work with Gobber in the forge. And there's always this afternoon's lesson to look forward to."

The skinnier boy just grunted and shoved another egg into his mouth.

"Guess I won't be able to go flying with you today," Astrid muttered as she got up from the table as well. Then her eyes widened and she rapidly amended, "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to remind you of that…"

"Its fine," Hiccup replied nonchalantly. "I'll see you later, Astrid."

His girlfriend nodded and waved goodbye as she left the Great Hall, followed by her little sister. Everyone else filed out soon after that, leaving Hiccup alone to finish his breakfast. Snotlout patted him on the back as he walked past, and Batwings ruffled his hair, in order to help cheer him up.

Five minutes after his friends had all gone, Hiccup finally cleaned off his plate and stood up. "Well, I might as well get this over with…" he muttered, walking toward the door without any sort of motivation to help push him forward.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Hiccup's House**

As Hiccup had expected, Toothless was eagerly waiting for him when he arrived at his house. The Night Fury spotted him immediately and galloped over with the saddle in his mouth, gurgling enthusiastically and dropping the riding gear at his feet. He looked up at his human friend with his expectant green eyes.

"Yeah, about that," Hiccup said reluctantly. "Thanks to, um, circumstances beyond my control, I'm afraid that, uh, we won't be able to go flying at all today."

Toothless' ears perked up and he looked questioningly at Hiccup, clearly asking if he was joking.

"Sorry, bud," Hiccup sighed. "I know you were looking forward to it, but… yeah, I'm afraid that it's kind of not going to happen now. Again, sorry."

The Night Fury's ears drooped sadly and a low warble emanated from his throat as he looked down at the ground.

Hiccup felt guilty about dropping this on his friend so suddenly. "Tell you what," he said, the enthusiasm in his voice making Toothless look up again. "I won't be very busy tomorrow, so we can do some extra flying then to make up for today. Sound good?"

Toothless gurgled happily and licked Hiccup across the face. The scrawny boy laughed and patted the dragon's nose. "Thanks for understanding, bud," he said gratefully, before walking off toward Gobber's forge.

"Ruff's going to regret this…" he muttered under his breath.

However, Toothless' keen dragon ears heard this remark. The Night Fury thought about it for a while, and wondered if Ruff had anything to do with Hiccup's sudden reluctance to go flying.

Toothless nodded his head once as he arrived at that conclusion. With a snort, the black dragon loped off to find the Thorston siblings.

-.-.-.-.-.

**I was originally going to have Hiccup fail this one, but I decided against it. Two fails in a row would seem a little bit repetitive.**

**Anyway, review and maybe send a dare suggestion, and I'll see you for the next chapter!**

**Toothless: "****_Have you humans seen Ruff and Tuff anywhere?_****"**

**Next chapter: Hiccup dares Fishlegs**


	14. Silence is a Virtue

**Technically, silence is not a virtue. A virtue is actually something that contradicts one of the Seven Deadly Sins…**

**…Anyway, rambling aside, this dare was suggested by Ferdoos. The funny thing is, I actually had this idea set aside for Batwings later on!**

-.-.-.-.-.

The day passed rather quickly. Before Hiccup knew it, it was morning, and that meant Ruffnut's dare was no longer in effect. In a strange twist, it was now Hiccup who was waking up Toothless in order to get in some early-morning flying. Not that Toothless had any objections like Hiccup often had – the Night Fury became ecstatic when he realized they could go flying again.

It was an hour later when the Vikings of Berk looked up to see the initially startling, but welcome, dark shape of the Night Fury coming in for a landing at the Great Hall. It was Thursday again, and that meant that dragons were once again allowed inside during meal times.

Hiccup and Toothless walked in to find the interior of the Great Hall mostly empty. Of course, his friends and their own dragons were still there at their usual table. There were also a few adults wandering about, feeding their dragons and discussing things like the latest flying tricks and the best ways to clean out a dragon's ears. Hiccup grabbed one of the last few plates sitting around – it was baked potatoes and a bowl of chowder – and took a few fish for Toothless as well before heading over to greet his friends.

"There you are," Astrid said with a smile, moving over and clearing a space for him to sit down. "I should have known you'd be late, since you didn't get to fly Toothless at all yesterday."

Hiccup smiled back and slipped in next to her. "Yeah, Toothless was really excited to get back in the air at last. Thanks to Ruff," he added, shooting her a scathing look.

The Thorston girl held up her hands in defense. "Hey, you could have refused the dare," she suggested. "That's always an option."

"That's _never_ an option!" Snotlout disagreed emphatically, pounding his fists on the table.

Hiccup glanced over at Fishlegs, who was bending over his dragon scale collection and muttering to himself. "What are you up to this time, Fishlegs?" he asked wryly.

"I think he's going over his collection to see which ones have hairline fractures and which ones he can keep," Snaketail said sarcastically.

Fishlegs glanced up and saw everyone watching him. "What?" he protested. "Trader Johann's coming again soon. I'm trying to figure out which scale I'd want to trade him if he has anything I want. Like this Siren scale for instance – I have Batwings to thank for it, by the way. It definitely has forty percent more luster to it than any of the other scales, but the Gronckle one has six extra points in durability. Then there's the Puff Nadder scale, whose consistency is considerably less like a scale and more like skin, with a plus seven in flexibility…"

"Blah blah blah," Snotlout said. "Just go with the Siren one. I'd bet there isn't anyone else out there who's managed to get one of those and escape with their lives."

It was one of those rare instances when Snotlout had a point, other than the ones on his helmet.

"Say, where is Batwings anyway? And Heather too, for that matter," wondered Astrid. Indeed, both dragons were absent.

"They probably just had a restless night and are sleeping it off. If you know what I mean," hinted Tuffnut. "Wait, _do_ you know what I mean? 'Cause I don't."

"Ooh!" exclaimed Fishlegs. "It would be amazing if they had eggs during the next breeding season! We could be the first people ever to document the breeding habits and nesting behavior of the Sirens!" The Ingerman boy looked beyond excited.

"That's… one way of putting it," Hiccup muttered. "I don't know what Batwings would say about it, though."

Snotlout gave a short laugh. "Yeah, how would you like it if some weirdo with a notebook watched while you and your girlfriend" – he shut up immediately when Astrid treated him to the usual punch-to-the-shoulder therapy.

All of a sudden, the Siren couple themselves descended down upon their table and sat down. "Now what are you guys chattering about?" Batwings asked with a small yawn. "You yak more than yaks."

Tuffnut was confused. "Wait, since when do yaks yak?" he asked.

"Maybe if you stopped yakking, you'd hear them yak," Heather said with a grin. She seemed to be enjoying the admittedly amusing conversation.

Ruff jerked a thumb at her brother. "So for the yaks to yak, this yak has to stop yakking?" she said with a wide smirk.

"Who are you calling a yak, yak-breath?" demanded Tuff, shoving her to the ground. She grabbed his arm and dragged him onto the floor with her, and their usual breakfast-time brawl got started.

"Please, enough of the yak talk," Hiccup sighed. "I've had enough of yaks ever since the Berk Stampede."

"How about yak milk?" suggested Snaketail.

"Yaknog?" asked Astrid.

"I'm trying to eat," muttered Snotlout.

"What about yak pie?" wondered Arachne.

"Alright, enough!" said Batwings, ending the conversation.

There was a moment of silence. "So they're calling it the Berk Stampede now?" Snaketail asked suddenly.

"Yeah, that's what my dad's been calling it," Hiccup confirmed. "He said that in hindsight, it was a nice bit of excitement to break up the monotony of village life."

Batwings snorted. "What's next? Willingly releasing the animals into the streets once a year during Thor's Day Thursday?"

"I can see it now," Astrid said sarcastically, holding her hands before her as if conjuring an image in their heads. "'The Running of the Yaks'."

"At least the dragons could get in some good hunting practice," Heather pointed out. Behind her, Hookfang, Stormfly, Rilebolt, and Barf and Belch all nodded in agreement.

"We really shouldn't encourage the idea," Fishlegs gulped. "I mean, sixty percent of the village was completely destroyed during that stampede, and we had to help repair about fifty percent of that. Additionally, Goathi was working about thirty percent overtime. According to my calculations, we all gained a plus four in muscle by being forced to do all that work."

Astrid punched Hiccup on the shoulder. "Hey, I think I just found your new working-out regime," she said teasingly. "On a side note, who are you going to dare next?"

Hiccup's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh, that's right," he said. "Hmm, I think I'll dare you, Fishlegs."

The much larger boy gulped and tried to shrink back in his seat. "Please don't make it anything I'll regret doing," he whimpered.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I don't really have any ideas," Hiccup admitted. "Can someone give me a suggestion?"

It was Heather who spoke up first. "Thinking back to our earlier conversation," she said softly, "how about if Fishlegs doesn't say a word for the rest of the day?"

Fishlegs himself straightened up a little more. "That doesn't sound too bad. Can we go with that?" he asked, directing his question at Hiccup.

"Sure," the Haddock boy answered. "But remember, not one peep out of you for an entire day. Got it?"

Fishlegs nodded.

"Will he be able to pull it off?" Snotlout wondered, asking no-one in particular.

Fishlegs shrugged.

"I guess that answers that," Batwings said with a snicker.

Fishlegs gave another nod.

After that, everyone finished breakfast and started to leave one by one. Fishlegs began to get up from the table after the exhausted Ruff and Tuff had left, but froze in his seat when Stoick almost bumped into him.

"Morning, kids!" he said jovially. "Sorry about that, Fishlegs. Are you alright?"

Fishlegs glanced around nervously before nodding.

Stoick regarded him quizzically. "Are you sure?" he asked, somewhat concerned.

The Ingerman boy nodded again and quickly speed-walked out of the Great Hall before he could crack under the pressure.

"What's with him?" the Chief asked to no-one in particular.

"No idea," Astrid shrugged.

"Fishlegs is a rather odd sort," Batwings remarked.

"He just clammed up all of a sudden," said Snaketail with mock worry.

Stoick firmed his jaw and looked off in the direction Fishlegs had gone, before shrugging his massive shoulders and lumbering off. _What could those kids be up to this time?_ he asked himself for what seemed like the hundredth time this week.

"Is it just me, or is your dad catching on?" Arachne asked Hiccup.

The Haddock boy shuddered. "By the gods, I hope not."

-.-.-.-.-.

**Yak-talk for the win.**

**So, Fishlegs is forced to keep his endlessly-flapping mouth shut for once. Meanwhile, it seems that Stoick's suspicions that something is amiss are growing. Let's see how long we can keep this dare war going, hmm?**

**Fishlegs: "There's approximately a thirty-two percent chance that things will go horribly wrong."**

**Tuffnut: "Wait, wasn't he supposed to stop talking?"**

**Fishlegs: "Eep!"**

**Review and send a suggestion for the next chapter's dare!**

**Next chapter: Fishlegs dares Snotlout**


	15. A Day out of Character

**Sorry for my long absence. Anyway, this dare was suggested by quite a few of my readers, and I'm all for pleasing the general public.**

**Especially when I get some enjoyment out of it as well, heh heh heh.**

-.-.-.-.-.

The sun was just rising that morning when Batwings flew out from his window and into the chilly dawn sky. Beating his wings against the slight headwind that had kicked up, the Siren took in a great lungful of the invigorating air. He always did love mornings, and this was always the best part.

He was heading away from the small, ordinary house he shared with Heather and toward the eastern cliffs to watch the sunrise. Batwings did this several times a week, not bothering to do so on days that were cloudy. Often, Heather would join him – but this morning, she was still fast asleep, and the male Siren didn't want to disturb her.

A roar pealed across the sky, and Batwings glanced up in response to a sudden rush of air above him. A black shape streaked away from him and up toward higher altitudes. He smiled at the sight of Hiccup and Toothless already starting their own morning flight.

Finally, he reached the eastern cliffs. Settling himself on a flat rock, Batwings folded his wings and crossed his legs slightly, fiddling with the new contraption that Hiccup had given him. "Glasses", they were called, and Hiccup had made them when Batwings had noted that his eyesight wasn't as good as it used to be. The odd device was made up of curving metal frames that held lenses made of glass (hence the name) that curled over the bridge of his nose and around his ears. It improved his sight greatly, but they still felt a little heavy when they rested on his face. Obviously, he couldn't wear them in his pure dragon form, either.

Now, thanks to these "glasses", Batwings could watch the slowly rising sun with exceptional clarity. He smiled, as he always did, as the great, glowing orb rose from below the horizon and into the sky, filling the world with its light.

Sometimes, Batwings wondered if the world was flat as everyone said. If it was, then where did the sun go during the night? How come it rose in the east and set in the west? Those were mysteries that would probably never be unraveled, even hundreds of years from now.

A soft fluttering sound made Batwings turn around. He couldn't help but widen his smile as Heather silently sat down beside him to watch the sunrise as well. Still without speaking, the female Siren slid her arms around his waist and her wing around his shoulders. Batwings did the same, holding her close.

They sat in silence like this for a while, regarding the sun as it gradually ascended higher in the sky. "It's the little things, isn't it, that make life worth living," Heather finally murmured.

"I agree," Batwings replied. "Every moment with you is something special to me."

Heather laughed. "I was talking about the sunrise," she told him. "But I have to admit that you're right. I treasure each minute we spend together," she added, her voice a soft croon.

The two humanoid dragons kissed briefly, then continued to watch the sun rise, and the sky slowly change colors from soft lavender to ever-brightening blue. Batwings indeed loved these peaceful times spent with Heather, valued them more than anything. Of what use was having a mate if one couldn't have a few romantic moments alone with her every day?

Finally, after several more of these romantic moments, the two Sirens stood up and stretched. "Are you going to head to the Great Hall for breakfast?" Heather asked quietly.

"I'm going to visit Nightshade first," Batwings told her. "I'll meet you there if you want."

"No, I'll come along with you," the Siren girl replied loyally. "We're all a family, aren't we? You, me, and Nightshade."

Batwings looked skyward for one last glance at the sun and the sky it illuminated so majestically. "Have you ever thought about… expanding the family?" he murmured.

"Pardon?" asked Heather, tilting her head.

The male Siren blushed. "Nothing," he hastily amended. "Let's go see Nightshade."

-.-.-.-.-.

**Great Hall**

"Oh, you have no idea how much relief it is to be able to verbally express myself again!" Fishlegs exclaimed, running his mouth nonstop once again.

"Remind me why we limited his period of silence to only a day," Snaketail muttered, butchering her sausage. "I'm still amazed he managed to remain silent for a full _hour_ yesterday."

Indeed, this next morning in the Great Hall signaled the end of Fishleg's ban on talking. To everyone's surprise, he had made it through the entirety of yesterday without making a peep. Everyone had thought that Fishlegs keeping quiet would be as impossible as Ruff and Tuff not fighting. But shockingly, the largest and most timid member of the gang beat all of their expectations.

"That was amazing, Fishlegs," Hiccup congratulated his friend. "Seriously, for you that's a major accomplishment. Maybe this experience will help you next time we imitate Alvin, tie you up, and grill you for information about our dragons."

Fishlegs gulped. "Please no," he whimpered. "That was scary."

"That was so much fun," Ruffnut snickered sadistically. "It's always fun watching Ingerman squirm."

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall burst open, and in swooped Batwings and Heather. "What did we miss?" asked Batwings, snatching a plate of fish and fluttering down beside Astrid.

"We were just congratulating Fishlegs on his victory," chuckled the blonde girl, moving over to give the Siren a bit more room.

"Oh yes, the whole 'keeping silent' thing," Heather said in realization. "And you're saying he managed to do it?"

"Yep," Fishlegs said proudly, feeling kind of good about himself. "I never thought I could do it either."

Snotlout just laughed mockingly and swiped Fishlegs' mug of yak milk. "Alright, so maybe it's a big deal for Chicken Legs," he sneered, "but I'd be able to do much better. I could go a _week_ without talking!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see you go a week without _boasting_, Lout," he muttered.

"Make that a day without boasting," suggested Astrid, giving Snotlout a smug look.

"Puh-lease!" scoffed the Jorgenson boy. "I could do that in my sleep!"

Batwings chuckled. "So far, we're not seeing any evidence that might suggest such a thing," he said, biting the head off of a mackerel.

"Hey, why not make that his dare?" asked Arachne enthusiastically. "Dare him to go a day without bragging or being proud."

All of their heads immediately swung toward Fishlegs. "Wh-what?" he asked nervously. "Why's everyone looking at me?"

"It's your turn to dare someone, isn't it?" Tuffnut said bluntly. "Wait. It is, right? Or was it Snotlout's? Now I'm confused."

"Snotlout's turn will come later, butt-elf," scolded Ruffnut, dumping her soup onto his head.

"Well, Fishlegs?" said Hiccup. "Are you going to dare Snotlout?"

The Ingerman boy shrugged. "I guess so. Snotlout, I officially dare you to act humble for twenty-four hours. And to be fair, I'm going to give you three chances as well."

"I accept!" replied Snotlout, slamming his fist down on the table confidently. "This is gonna be a piece of cake! Heck, I'm not even going to _need_ those three chances!"

Astrid smirked. "Oh yes you will. In fact, you just used one."

Snotlout immediately clammed up and turned back to his meal, smartly deciding to stay silent.

"He's not going to make it," Astrid said decisively.

"Maybe he will," Arachne pointed out. "I mean, Fishlegs went a day without talking, right?"

There was a combination of nods and shrugs. Nods that said Astrid's little sister did have a point, and shrugs that said Snotlout didn't have a hope of getting through this dare regardless.

"Snotlout's pretty much doomed in this one," noted Ruff, subtly nudging Astrid in the side. "He's not going to be able to remain humble for long."

"You're right," Astrid sighed with mock regret. "And it's too bad. After all, Snotlout can do _anything else_, can't he?"

The arrogant boy in question pounded his fist on the table again. "Hey, I can too! I'll dazzle you all with my humbleness! I doubt even _Hiccup_ can be as humble as me!"

"I don't," Batwings sneered. "Because you just used up another chance."

Snotlout turned bright red and glared at Astrid. "No fair!" he protested, causing some of the Viking adults to look over at their table. "You tricked me into saying that! That's playing dirty!"

"Since when have you ever played fair, Lout?" asked Astrid rhetorically, crossing her arms.

Snotlout faltered. "Well, there was the time – wait. No, I… I see what you're doing. Don't try to confuse me!"

Thankfully, the others managed to stop Astrid's smart reply before it started. The group uneasily descended into their breakfasts, with the occasional expectant or perhaps nervous glance toward Snotlout being the only reason they looked up from their plates.

Finally, someone had to break the silence. "So, are we all going flying today?" Hiccup asked the group. "I'm planning on giving a lesson dedicated entirely to flying practice."

"Entirely?" inquired Snaketail, looking up in interest.

"Yeah," Hiccup replied, "I basically want to see how you all fly. We're going to be going for a ride all over the island. It'll be a good opportunity to practice those flight maneuvers that each of you are having trouble with, I might add."

"I'm in!" Arachne piped up.

"I've got nothing better to do," said Tuff dully.

"Guess that means I'm going," Ruff added with a roll of her eyes.

Batwings looked at Heather questioningly. She giggled softly and assured him, "Yes, I want to go."

Hiccup looked around at the gang in a satisfied way. "Alright, guess everyone's coming along," he noted. "It's always fun flying with all my friends."

"Oh, for sure," agreed Arachne, nodding enthusiastically. "It isn't the same if everyone isn't there."

"Poor Snotlout," smirked Astrid. "He won't be able to show off his 'superior' flying maneuvers today."

The Jorgenson boy turned the most interesting shade of puce, and he shook with frustration.

"Unless he loses the dare," Fishlegs pointed out.

"That'll be nothing new," Snaketail said mockingly.

That remark did it. Snotlout stood up from the table, glared at her, and yelled, "I am Snotlout Jorgenson! I NEVER lose to ANYTHING!"

It took his dull brain a full minute to realize the irony of that statement.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Another loss. That makes Ruffnut and Snotlout the only two to fail a dare, I believe.**

**I'm thinking of introducing some minor plotlines to this story – maybe an attack by the Outcasts, another peace treaty with the Berserkers, Batwings and Heather "expanding the family", etc.**

**Plus, Season 2 of Riders of Berk has been out for a while (Defenders of Berk, huzzah!) so that's definitely something to celebrate. I might have the Screaming Death and his Whispering Death lackeys appear as well.**

**Speaking of which, are there any plotlines YOU want to happen, readers? Suggest a few good ones along with your dare suggestions, and I'll see you for the next chapter!**

**Next chapter: Snotlout dares Batwings**


End file.
